Weld undecided on route to take with Passage

Leading Irish novice Rite of Passage will run at Punchestown tomorrow but is still not certain to line up at the Cheltenham festival in March according to trainer Dermot Weld.

Weld is keeping his cards close to his chest in relation to the unbeaten novice and has even hinted he may bypass the national hunt showpiece altogether.

Rite Of Passage is a clear 4-1 favourite with Ladbrokes for the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle and is currently 14-1(Paddy Power) for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.

"He's well, but he has a tough assignment with Healy's Bar in there as he's rated 144," said Weld.

"That is a fair high rating so it's going to be a stiff task for our horse and we'll just see what happens. He's running over two and a half miles for the first time but I'm not looking beyond Wednesday.

"He's in both novice races at Cheltenham but I've not even committed him to going there and he could even go back to the Flat. We'll just see what happens at Punchestown” added Weld.

For all the latest markets for the Cheltenham festival and a £50 free bet go to leading Irish bookmaker Paddy Power.

Get a £50 free bet with PaddyPower now

Share this article

16 reads Add Comment

Tags

Tags: Cheltenham Festival, Dermot Weld, Ladbrokes, Paddy Power, Paddypower, Rite Of Passage