Hussard skips Hennessy

RACING: Next weekend's Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown could turn into an all-Irish affair after the Yorkshire trainer Peter Beaumont confirmed yesterday that Hussard Collonges will not run again before the Cheltenham Festival. Brian O'Connor reports.

Last season's SunAlliance winner has failed to score in three starts this season but is generally a 10 to 1 third favourite for the Gold Cup next month.

Beaumont won the Hennessy three times in a row with Jodami (1993-95) but is going to bypass the Leopardstown feature this time with his rising young star. "He is perfectly alright but we've just decided that going to Ireland and then to Cheltenham would mean five hard races in a row. He has had three already this season and we don't want to overdo it," he said yesterday.

"Leopardstown is always a tough race anyway so we will give it a miss and go straight to Cheltenham. Jodami was a big tough horse who was more robust and he was able to do it alright. But we might have to wait for another year with this one," he added.

The other English-trained Hennessy entry Behrajan won the Pillar Chase at Cheltenham last weekend and the only other overseas possibility is the French-trained First Gold. The former King George hero scoped badly after a poor run in the Ericsson at Christmas but JP McManus's racing manager Frank Berry said yesterday: "It's up in the air where he will go next. He is also in the Aon Chase at Newbury and he will probably go there or to Leopardstown."

The McManus team will have smaller fish to worry about at Punchestown today where Christy Roche gives a first start to the Toponoora mare Like A Bird in the bumper. She is the unknown quantity of the contest but one man who could also have an eye on the result, and the running of Curious Rose, is the English champion trainer Martin Pipe.

He has recently taken charge of the Leopardstown winner Vodka Bleu who overcame a slow early pace to score for Eddie Hales last month. Just seven and a half lengths back on that occasion was Curious Rose who led on the turn in and belied her 14 to 1 SP. The presence of the McManus runner could make her a price today.

An intriguing runner in the opener is the ex-Aidan O'Brien trained Louisville whose last start was a tailed off ninth of the 12 starters in the Epsom Derby. Before that he had the top filly Irresistible Jewel back in third when winning his maiden at the Curragh. Kenilworth, however, has the form in the book after runner-up placings in a pair of Grade Threes.

Property Partners has his fourth hurdles start in the handicap and on the back of bumper second to Mark The Man at Leopardstown, he looks to have an eyecatching 10-1 on his back.