Whittington hopeful of "big run" from Champion Chase contender Rouge Vif

Harry Whittington has outlined his plans for this year’s Cheltenham Festival with Champion Chase contender Rouge Vif headlining a small but select team for the Lambourn handler.

Whittington tasted his first victory at the Cheltenham Festival last year when Simply The Betts captured the Brown Advisory Handicap Chase - now known as the Paddy Power Plate. However, the eight-year-old has been ruled out of this year’s meeting due to injury.

The trainer said: “Simply The Betts had a couple of minor niggles through the winter and just needed to tick all the boxes to run in these big races. On the back of a bone scan which revealed a couple of small issues, we’ve ruled him out.”

Yet Whittington is relishing putting Rouge Vif up against Chacun Pour Soi, Altior and Politologue in the Champion Chase. The seven-year-old finished a fine third in the Arkle last season and showed his liking for Prestbury Park when an emphatic winner at the track in October. Fourth to Nube Negra in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton over Christmas, Whittington is adamant the Sageburg gelding can be a player if ground conditions are in his favour.

Whittington, talking on bettingexpert's Cheltenham preview show Jump To It, continued: “Rouge Vif just has the one entry in the Champion Chase and that is what we’re heading for. He would need better ground than he has had so far this season. Evidently, he is a 10lb better horse on better ground.

“We’ve learnt our lesson about running him on testing ground. As long as the Champion Chase is on good to soft or better, we will be running him. If it is soft or heavy, we will wait till later in the spring.

“He was very impressive round Cheltenham on good ground in October and, if we got decent ground in the Champion Chase, we would be hopeful of a big run."

Of the potential dangers, Whittington added: “Chacun Pour Soi does look the one to beat. He is very solid and has been in fine form this season.

“Altior’s record at Cheltenham and in the Champion Chase speaks for itself, and who knows what might happen if he bounces back.

“I suppose all the main contenders for the race have something to prove, whereas Chacun Pour Soi doesn’t.

“But we’ll just focus on getting our horse in tip-top condition and, hopefully with a bit of luck, we’ll get our ground.”

Saint Calvados came within a neck of capturing the Ryanair Chase last season and was not disgraced when fourth in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day. However, things failed to go to plan when unseating Gavin Sheehan in the rescheduled Cotswold Chase at Sandown - and in a race intended as a fact-finding mission as to whether he really stayed three miles.

He said: “Things didn’t go to plan for Saint Calvados last time out. We wanted to find out if he stayed three miles, but he unseated rider which was frustrating. It is just one of those things.

“He’s entered in the Gold Cup and the Ryanair Chase. He was obviously second in the Ryanair Chase last year when he was beaten by a neck. The Ryanair is possibly the race that would suit him, but we’re keeping an open mind at the minute.

“A lot can happen in the week before Cheltenham and some of those big races can cut up, so we’ll also keep him in the Gold Cup and see what both races are looking like nearer the time.

“I don’t think he needs testing ground. It wasn’t testing ground in the Ryanair last year and that was his best run on ratings.

“He has a big knee action and he’s run well on testing ground in the past, but I think on a mixture of soft and good to soft sees him to good effect.”

The team could be completed by the unexposed Qualismart, who finished third to subsequent Graded scorer Admirel on his latest start. He could be a potential dark horse for the the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

“We’ve been waiting for better ground and there is the possibility of maybe sending him to Kempton next weekend," said Whittington.

“We’ll have a look at our options on Monday, but he just wouldn’t want the ground too soft. He is a nice horse - if he doesn’t go to Cheltenham he could go to Aintree.

“The form has worked out well from his Haydock third with the winner Adrimel going on to win a Grade Two next time out. We didn’t have our conditions on that occasion and he is one to look forward to on better ground.”

Discussing his team and his season so far, he continued: “Those three horses look like being our only runners at the Cheltenham Festival. It’s a small but select team.

“When you go to Cheltenham you want to take horses who are capable of being competitive and with those horses we are bound to be competitive. I’m really looking forward to it.

“We had a nightmare couple of months in the lead up to Christmas where we had a virus in the yard, and hopefully we’re out the other side.

"We’re looking forward to the rest of the season. We have the big guns to run at some of the biggest meetings, still have plenty of horses to run and hopefully we can do well at some of the spring festivals and have a good end to the season.”