Racing: O'Neill yard prospers in build-up to the Festival

If in doubt about what to pin your money to during the imminent Festival season you could do worse than to follow a trainer in form. Just over a week before he dispatches a vast array of talent on the short journey from his Gloucestershire stables to Cheltenham, Jonjo O'Neill is flying. The trainer of the Champion Hurdle favourite, Rhinestone Cowboy, saddled five winners at three different courses on Saturday and followed up with Sh Boom at Huntingdon yesterday to take his tally to nine winners in the last fortnight.

Sh Boom strode home in impressive fashion to earn a place in the Cheltenham squad and will join the trainer's strongly fancied Coolnagorna in the Royal & SunAlliance Novices' Hurdle at the Festival.

"He'll have to go to Cheltenham," O'Neill said. "It's a while since he ran and we wanted to give him a race and keep his mind right. He's only five so we wouldn't want to be killing him, but he's a real nice horse to look forward to."

O'Neill has decided that Keen Leader, his outstanding staying novice chaser, is much more likely to remain with his peers and contest the Royal & SunAlliance Chase rather than the Gold Cup. "If there were a small field in the Gold Cup the situation could change, as it could if there were a massive field for the Sun Alliance," O'Neill said. "It's nice to have a decision like this to make, but getting it right is easier said than done."

Paul Nicholls has also resisted the allure of the Gold Cup, despite Shotgun Willy's scintillating victory in Saturday's Red Square Vodka Gold Cup at Haydock. The long-term target of the Grand National, for which he is now joint favourite with his stablemate Ad Hoc, remains in the cross-hairs.

"Shotgun won't run before Aintree, definitely not at Cheltenham," Nicholls said yesterday. "We believe he's well handicapped for the National this year. That's our plan and we're not going to deviate from it."

The National plans for Davids Lad will be decided today, not by his trainer, Tony Martin, but by the Irish Turf Club's Appeals and Referrals Committee.

The gelding's owners are appealing against a 42-day ban imposed on the nine-year-old at Naas last Sunday, while Martin is appealing against the fine he was given for using the racecourse as a training ground. Timmy Murphy, suspended for seven days for making insufficient effort, is also appealing. A two-day reduction in the sentence on Davids Lad would allow him into the Aintree race.

Another trainer in spectacular form with Aintree in his sights is Richard Guest, who has opened his official career with a licence in style. Guest was previously assistant and stable jockey to Norman Mason, who was nominally the trainer. Since taking over, Guest has hardly been out of the winners' enclosure and Our Armageddon gave him his seventh success in nine days in a novices' hurdle at Carlisle yesterday.

"It is an unbelievable start," Guest said, "and it is not just the number of winners we have had. Larry McGrath, who has been working with me for 10 years, rode my first winner, then I won on Nosam who is my favourite horse."

Guest launches his Red Revolution Racing Club today. Its members will have a share in Red Marauder, Red Ark and Red Striker until the end of the season and the plan is to run all three in the Grand National at Aintree on 5 April.

Cheltenham going eases

Simon Claisse, Cheltenham's clerk of the course, yesterday attempted to allay the fears of trainers, including Noel Chance and Henrietta Knight, that watering of the track last week would result in false and boggy going now that rains has arrived.

"We have had 11mm of rain since Friday and I would say we've got perfect conditions," Claisse said. "We have achieved what we set out to do which was stop the ground from going firm. It is now good, with a few, very small, good to firm areas.

"We want ground slightly on the soft side of good and what we did last week will put us on course for perfect conditions."

Despite the rain, Claisse did not rule out the possibility of further watering. "We have to keep that option open, but on the basis of the forecast for the next nine days, it is unlikely."