County Armagh trainer Ronan McNally is set to let The Jam Man take his chance in Tuesday’s Ultima Handicap Chase on day one of the Cheltenham Festival.
The nine-year-old Gelding also has the option of running over hurdles on Thursday in the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle - a race he qualified for with a fine run behind Sporting John at Warwick in January.
However, the presence of the Paul Nicholls-trained Frodon in the Ultima is swaying the McNally camp towards that race as the former King George winner is set to carry top weight.
Read more : Rachael Blackmore not resting on her laurels ahead of Cheltenham Festival
“I’m favouring the Ultima with him and it is 80/20 he’ll go for that,” explained McNally.
“We are keen to find out if Frodon runs - if he does, it keeps us at a really good weight.
“Paul Nicholls is still undecided and I think they are waiting to see if the ground will dry up for him as he doesn’t want it too testing. I would love him to run and keep the weights down for ourselves.
“Fury Road is definitely taking his chance and they are going to put a claimer on him.
"I was looking at the result of last year’s race and the first four home were rated 143, 147, 154, 158. The Jam Man is rated at 150, but has never run off that mark - that was the mark he was given after winning the Troytown.
“I would say he’d have a squeak - an 11-year-old won last year’s race off 143.”
The Jam Man’s stunning win of the Troytown Chase in November of 2020 was also the last time he ran over the bigger obstacles.
McNally has campaigned him over hurdles in his six races since his brilliant 18-length victory at Navan.
While he ran with credit at Warwick in January, he was well beaten at Leopardstown last month when he finished 17th of 24 runners in the Grade B Paddy Power Handicap Hurdle, a race won by Tony Martin’s Good Time Jonny.
“If he doesn’t go to the Ultima, he’ll go for the Pertemps and that would be the obvious choice after qualifying for the race with a good run behind Sporting John,” said McNally.
“I just thought that he has only had a few runs over fences and he has been very good. Rather than running him over fences all the time, I wanted to have that as an ace up my sleeve to keep him fresh over fences.
“I was thinking of doing that for the Irish National, but there is only one Cheltenham so I might as well give him a rattle over fences at Cheltenham to see if he is a better horse over fences.
“His Troytown win was very good, he had some nice horses in behind him and there have been a lot of winners from that race.
“He has form on his day, I’ve just struggled with consistency with him over the last few seasons with him.
“My horses seem to go through a purple patch and then they don’t seem to be the healthiest and I can’t put my finger on it. I haven’t been able to keep him fit and healthy the whole way through the season which is why his form is a bit in and out.”
Indeed, McNally revealed that another of his stable stars, Dreal Deal, won’t run at the Cheltenham Festival and is set for another break after failing to fire this season.
The seven-year-old was a revelation last term - winning six races in succession including the Grade Two Moscow Flyer Novices’ Hurdle at Punchestown.
Yet, he disappointed at the Grand National meeting in Aintree last year and was fourth of six runners in his chasing debut at Navan in December.
Another poor showing back over hurdles at the Co Meath track last month prompted McNally to skip Cheltenham with Dreal Deal, who held entries in the Coral Cup, the County Hurdle and the Martin Pipe Handicap Hurdle.
“Dreal Deal just hasn’t fired this season yet,” added the Co Armagh handler.
“I don’t know what the issue is. Even when he won the Grade Two, I didn’t think he was 100 per cent. Since that, we haven’t been able to get him 100 per cent. We gave him a good long break - he had five months off over the summer.
“He came back and, for whatever reason, he hasn’t fired.
“We’ve tried everything and checked him over. Maybe he just needs a bit more time, but I’m not going to keep running him just for the sake of it.”
That leaves McNally with one horse and one race to aim for at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival and he is relishing the chance to return to Prestbury Park with The Jam Man, who finished down the field in the 2020 Stayers’ Hurdle won by Lisnagar Oscar.
“It will be amazing. I’ve been going to Cheltenham for 20 years and, for me, the first day is always the most exciting,” said McNally.
“The roar of the crowd and the buzz about the place . . . having a runner on the first day would be amazing.”
Read more: Ulster GAA ground makes the cut in world's 50 most beautiful sporting venues
Read more: Glentoran FC thrown out of Irish Cup over Joe Crowe ineligibility
Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.
