RACING:JONCOL boasts a 50 per cent career success rate and trainer Paul Nolan will hope his giant chaser can change a much less impressive Irish strike-rate in Saturday's Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury, writes Brian O'Connor.

Nolan is desperate for soft ground at the Berkshire track this weekend in order to run his star performer who returned to action with an impressive success at Thurles 18 days ago. That was Joncol’s seventh win from just 14 starts in a CV that already boasts Grade One victories in Leopardstown’s Hennessy and the John Durkan Chase. The latter event at Punchestown on December 11th is an alternative for Joncol should ground conditions turn against the eight-year-old this weekend but Nolan is keen to give him a crack at the prestigious British handicap.

Joncol is currently a general 14 to 1 shot in ante-post betting for the Hennessy, a race that has proved elusive to Irish trained horses.

Bright Highway in 1980 is the sole winner from this country on the Hennessy roll-of-honour since the peerless Arkle recorded back-to-back victories in 1964-65. Willie Mullins’ Be My Royal passed the post first nine years ago but was later suspended after testing positive for a prohibited substance.