With the possibility of the 2008 Totesport Gold Cup winner having another clash with his stable mate Kauto Star in the Argento Chase in the offing, Cheltenham officials are keeping their fingers crossed at having Denman take part in their Festival Trials Day meeting scheduled on Saturday.

Once again it may be touch and go at Prestbury Park. I went to the meeting on New Years Day when it was rumoured it would be off, and then after 2 races there was talk of it being called off again – so finger crossed for the weather this time round.

The 10 year old’s trainer Paul Nicholls did say that they were really keen on having Denman race on Saturday, however he also did mention that they would only be able to give the final decision  later in the week.

The decision is left pending as Denman will be having a third crack at the blue riband event – the Aon Chase at Newbury, where he remains unbeaten and has managed to win two Henesseys no less. Nicholls did mention that it would help if the week was dry, as a wet week will mean the ground will be very tough at the Cheltenham meeting.

In the meantime, I’ve heard news of Barry Geraghty deserting Punjabi for the Champion Hurdle so that he gets to ride Punjabi’s stable mate Zaynar at Cheltenham in March.

The reason for making this decision on Geraghty’s part is attributed to Punjabi’s third successive defeat on Saturday. Though trainer Nicky Henderson is confident that Punjabi will improve, Punjabi’s racing manager has admitted that Geraghty was thinking of riding Zaynar anyway.

Just to inform you, Cheltenham officials are not taking any chances with the weather on Festival Trials Day on Saturday and have decided to deploy frost covers. This measure was resorted to by course clerk Simon Claisse with temperatures dipping below freezing levels again in the past few days..