RACING LEOPARDSTOWN NEWS:LEOPARDSTOWN'S FOUR Grade One races will make or break some Cheltenham dreams this Sunday and Dermot Weld is hoping the Hennessy card can see two of his National Hunt stars earn tickets to next month's festival.

Hidden Universe will attempt to make it two wins from two starts over jumps when he lines up in the Deloitte Novice Hurdle, while the Moyglare Stud-owned filly Unaccompanied is set to try to do the same in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle.

Hidden Universe is currently as low as 10 to 1 favourite for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham after making an impressive debut at Leopardstown’s Christmas festival where the only blot on the performance was a tendency to jump to his right.

Unaccompanied was even more impressive on her first start over jumps at Punchestown on New Year’s Eve and is a 12 to 1 co-second favourite in some ante-post lists for the Triumph Hurdle.

It is 21 years since Rare Holiday scored in the Triumph, Weld’s sole Cheltenham Festival success to date although the legendary Flat trainer has hit the bar a number of times in recent years, including when the Ascot Gold Cup hero, Rite Of Passage, finished third in both 2009 and 2010.

“We’ll have two runners at Leopardstown on Sunday and we will see how they get on. Depending on how they do, we’ll see about Cheltenham for both of them,” Weld said yesterday.

“Hidden Universe did show a tendency to jump to his right the last day and that is a bit of a concern.

“But I hope the work we have done with him since then on that will stop that,” he added.

“Unaccompanied runs in the four-year-old race. They will be our two runners at the weekend.”

Weld has always campaigned a small-but-select team of jumpers through the winter and one horse that made a huge impression on his debut was Waaheb, who won so impressively at Leopardstown that he is currently William Hill’s 8 to 1 favourite for the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.

However, the trainer insisted yesterday: “Nothing has changed with him. I very much doubt he will go to Cheltenham and we are more likely to stick with our plan of going to Limerick for their newly upgraded bumper and then look at the Champion Bumper at Punchestown.

“He is still only a four-year-old and a bit immature.”

Sizing Europe has emerged unscathed from his run behind Golden Silver and Big Zeb in Sunday’s Tied Cottage Chase at Punchestown but no decision has been taken on his Cheltenham Festival target.

Last year’s Arkle winner holds entries in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Ryanair Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

“He seems fine this morning and I thought he ran okay. His jumping wasn’t as slick as it can be, but it was his first run since November and he ran all right. He’s in all three races at Cheltenham so we’ll keep our options open for the moment and hopefully finalise plans in the next few weeks,” trainer Henry De Bromhead said yesterday.

“There is no rush to decide and we just want to see how he comes out of the race at the weekend and think it all through. We will also have to consider the ground at Cheltenham. Whatever happens, to show his real best he needs that better ground. He hasn’t had that on his last couple of runs,” he added.

One Irish star almost definitely on track for the Champion Chase, though, is Captain Cee Bee despite having been well beaten behind Big Zeb in the Dial-A-Bet Chase over Christmas.

“He’s got entries in the Queen Mother and Ryanair, but it’s probably going to be the Champion Chase. It looks more open this year. I was initially disappointed with our lad last time, but in hindsight it wasn’t that bad a run given it was his first time against the big boys.

“He’d been held up by the weather and he was still in contention going to the last so it wasn’t that bad a run. There’s no disgrace losing to Big Zeb and Golden Silver. He doesn’t have to find much to have a chance there. Nothing looks invincible this year. The ground should be in his favour come March too,” trainer Eddie Harty said yesterday.

* Dunguib’s jockey Brian O’Connell has lodged an appeal with the Turf Club over a seven day ban he picked up at Fairyhouse on Saturday for making insufficient effort on That Beats Banaher in a Beginners Chase.

The Liam Kenny-trained horse, who started a 33 to 1 shot, finished seventh to Montan. Afterwards the stewards suspended That Beats Banaher from racing for forty two days under the non-trier rules.

The horse’s connections have appealed that penalty and Kenny, who was fined €1,500 for using the racecourse as a training ground, has also lodged an appeal with the Referrals Committee.