Weekend target under consideration for Heart Wood

Heart Wood is set for an appearance in Britain at the weekend, but connections are still to decide whether he will test his staying credentials in the Betfair Chase or go to Ascot for a possible clash with Lulamba in the Ladbrokes 1965 Chase.

Henry de Bromhead’s Ryanair hero was due to return to further in Down Royal’s Champion Chase late last month before missing the race on account of the ground.

Robbie Power, racing manager for owners Robcour, said: “Heart Wood will be left in at Haydock and in at Ascot as well.

“We’ll weigh up both races during the week and make a plan. It will depend on ground and weather, but he’ll definitely go to one of the two.

“We’re looking at three-mile races this year like the King George and Cheltenham Gold Cup, and we were going to go to Down Royal to see if he truly got the three miles. The question will be do we really want to go three-miles-one at Haydock when Ascot seems his ideal trip.

“He does like decent ground so we’ll be considering both races and hopefully he will run in one of them.”

De Bromhead also has high-class mare The Big Westerner and recent Punchestown Grade Three winner Gorgeous Tom left in the Haydock Group One, and Power added: “We’ll just see how the ground is looking in the week. The Big Westerner was super at Wexford, but she is ground dependent and we’ll have to just monitor for her.”