Joyeuse sidesteps Morebattle date

Nicky Henderson said “everything is under consideration” for his improving mare Joyeuse after opting not to run in Saturday’s bet365 Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso.

The JP McManus-owned six-year-old was an impressive winner of the Betfair Hurdle earlier this month but does not qualify for any of the handicaps at the Cheltenham Festival as she has only run four times over obstacles.

Henderson had mentioned the Morebattle as a viable option at a stable open day last week, especially as it is worth more than the County Hurdle, but he has now decided the combination of a big weight and the proximity to her Newbury run is enough to keep her in her stable this weekend.

She would need to be supplemented for the Grade One Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle at the Festival should connections decide to go down that route, but Henderson has yet to map out any firm plans.

“She’s fine but she’s not going to Kelso,” said the Seven Barrows handler.

“Everything is under consideration for her I would say, we can put it like that, we haven’t got any further.

“We did think about Kelso but it was only three weeks ago and she would have had an awful lot of weight, so we’ve decided to leave that.”

Alan King’s Favour And Fortune, fourth behind Joyeuse at Newbury, will carry top weight in the Morebattle should he run after 23 horses were confirmed.

While Emmet Mullins did not confirm McLaurey, he could still be represented by Vischio.

It is a case of quality of quantity in the bet365 Premier Chase with Dan Skelton’s Grey Dawning potentially taking on Iroko, the big Grand National hope from the yard of Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero.