War Of Attrition to go for Gold Cup

RACING/Cheltenham festival: War Of Attrition has been confirmed a definite starter in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday by trainer Mouse Morris.

Connections had been deliberating which festival race to go for with the seven-year-old and the Ryanair Chase, sponsored by his owner Michael O'Leary, had also been under consideration. However, Morris said: "We have made a decision - the owner left it up to me and Conor O'Dwyer and there is only one Gold Cup. The horse is in good form and we are hoping for the best."

War Of Attrition is a best-priced 10 to 1 chance for the blue riband after finishing a well-beaten second to Beef Or Salmon in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown at Christmas.

Sent off favourite for the Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy at last year's festival, he only came home seventh but has been in good order this winter and claimed the scalp of last year's Gold Cup winner Kicking King in October.

Meanwhile, Cheltenham are still predicting ground on the slow side of good for the opening day. The track saw some snow over the weekend but yesterday clerk of the course Simon Claisse reported that to have disappeared. "The little sprinkle (of snow) we had has gone and we may get a little flurry later on today," said Claisse.

"Temperatures are one or two degrees, there's no frost in the ground, so we wouldn't have had any problems racing today at all.

"We had a wind chill that took us down to minus nine at 7am. Just as I was on my way in here, I got a phone call from the stable yard manager saying the water had frozen in both yards but fortunately that is now back up and running as we have about 40 horses on site at the moment.

"I think that's the worst of the cold weather we are anticipating over the next week."

Claisse is anticipating some further rain today and he believes that precipitation could just turn the ground more towards the easy side.

"Tomorrow is not supposed to be as cold as today. We are due to have a little bit of rain, maybe two or three millimetres, on Monday and then on Tuesday it is due to be cloudy with rain at times and daytime temperatures of up to eight degrees.

"If those sort of amounts of rain come, we are talking of a maximum of five or six millimetres, it's not going to be too different to what it is now, the slow side of good," he told At The Races.

"We are currently good, good to soft in places - it may just flick it the other way good to soft, good in places."

Nickname will sidestep tomorrow Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy due to the ground. Martin Brassil's seven-year-old had been a 20 to 1 shot with Coral for the two-mile race after being narrowly beaten by Sir Oj last time.