Gigginstown stars ready to return

THIS WEEKEND’S Leopardstown and Naas action will have a big bearing on the powerful Gigginstown Stud team’s Cheltenham plans as their star novice chasers, Last Instalment and Bog Warrior, return to action.

Last Instalment, winner of the Fort Leney Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas, returns to the Co Dublin track for Sunday’s Grade One Dr PJ Moriarty Chase.

Unbeaten in three starts over fences to date, Philip Fenton’s star performer can cement a place in the RSA Chase when he takes on a maximum of half a dozen opponents on Sunday. “We’ve been happy with him since he ran at Christmas. The ground was fairly good the last day and I see that it has dried out a bit at Leopardstown over the last few days, but that isn’t a worry. The plan is that he’ll run and he seems to be in great shape,” Fenton said.

Bog Warrior also holds a Moriarty entry but trainer Tony Martin indicated yesterday his Drinmore winner will return to action at Naas on Saturday. It will be his first start since a dramatic fall at Leopardstown over Christmas.

“Hopefully we’ll get him out on Saturday. He seems very well and I’m very pleased with him,” he said. “He got hit by our other horse behind him (Gift Of Dgab), who galloped into him and got brought down. He got a blow to his head. We went easy with him for a couple of weeks and he seems perfect now.”

Sunday’s Leopardstown card is worth over €450,000 and is the last major trial day before the Cheltenham in just over four weeks’ time. The action will begin with the Spring Juvenile Hurdle which attracted four British hopefuls among the entry at yesterday’s forfeit stage, including John Ferguson’s Huntingdon winner Asaid.

The Willie Mullins-trained Ut De Sivola, who is as low as 10 to 1 for the Triumph at Cheltenham, is looking to make it three from three over jumps the Grade One.