De Bromhead confirms likely Cheltenham target for Dublin absentee A Plus Tard

Henry de Bromhead has indicated the Ryanair Chase is the likely Cheltenham Festival target for A Plus Tard after the trainer declared the six-year-old a non-runner at the Dublin Racing Festival.

A Plus Tard dethroned Chacun Pour Soi at Leopardstown over Christmas on soft ground but, with the ground yielding for the Dublin Chase, connections decided to bypass a rematch.

De Bromhead said of the six-year-old: "The ground has changed from yielding to soft to yielding and that's why we've taken him out. He's 100 per cent and the Ryanair is his likely Cheltenham target."

The six-year-old is entered in both the Ryanair Chase and Queen Mother Champion Chase. He is a general 5-1 for the Ryanair and widely available at 8-1 for the Champion Chase.

The trainer also told Racing TV: "It's probably a combination of the ground and over that trip. Two miles is a little bit sharp for him but it was soft at Christmas and things fell right for him. Today the ground's a bit better so we said we'd give it a miss and go straight to Cheltenham.

"There's no necessity to run him as he'd won [a Grade 1] already. He's in mighty form and it was a tough decision to make. I spoke with Chris Richardson [racing manager to owners Cheveley Park Stud] and we agreed to forget today."

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