Thunder Rock has festive options at Kempton and Cheltenham

Six-year-old set to test big-race credentials.

Olly Murphy is weighing up options over the Christmas period for his star novice chaser Thunder Rock – with both Kempton and Cheltenham entering the equation.

An impressive winner in handicap company on both starts over fences, he was set to be handed his first major challenge in the Noel Novices’ Chase at the abandoned Ascot meeting last week but Murphy is now seeking alternatives for the 150-rated novice, who is owned by the McNeill family.

Keen to put Thunder Rock’s Graded credentials to the test and gauge where they stand with the six-year-old, Murphy has identified a pair of Grade Two contests, the Ladbrokes Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase at Kempton on December 27 and the Paddy Power Novices’ Chase – better known as the Dipper – on the New Year’s Day card at Prestbury Park, as races that have both come into the reckoning for a horse that is a clear favourite of the master of Warren Chase Stables.

He said: “It’s a little bit up in the air at the moment, but he will have an entry in the Wayward Lad at Kempton and he will also have an entry in the Dipper at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day.

“I think two miles will be OK if the ground is slow enough, but I would be slightly concerned about going over two miles on good ground around Kempton. We’ll have to see what the weather does and I’ll speak with Max McNeill and their racing manager, Iain Turner, and decide what we want to do.

“Ultimately, I think he is a two-and-a-half-miler, but we are kind of short of options and he’ll either run in one of the Wayward Lad or the Dipper.

“I’m keen to get him out. He’s only had two runs over fences, albeit he has been good on both starts. This will obviously step him up in Grade again and see where we are. He’s a 150-rated chaser and I suppose we’ll know what route we are going to go down heading towards the spring.

“He’s looked good so far and he’s a horse I’m looking forward to – he’s certainly at the top end of my novices. He’s a horse we love.”

Murphy also confirmed that another apple of his eye, Go Dante, is nearing a return to the racetrack following a year on the sidelines.

Trainer Olly Murphy is looking forward to running both Thunder Rock and Go Dante over the Christmas period
Trainer Olly Murphy is looking forward to running both Thunder Rock and Go Dante over the Christmas period (David Davies/PA)

The six-year-old has only been seen four times, having suffered a pelvic injury while novice hurdling last season, but has shown plenty of ability in glimpses during his fleeting appearances.

He continued: “He’s got four or five options over Christmas and New Year – we need to have a discussion with his owner, Barbara Hester, over what is the right thing to do.

“He hasn’t got a lot of experience so we are just a bit mindful about where we go first time in a handicap.

“He had a small hairline fracture to his pelvis, hence he’s been off for so long, so I’m keen to give him a nice introduction back on the racetrack before going on to bigger and better things later in the season.

“But he is in good form and I’m looking forward to getting him started, and hope he has a mark that is workable.”

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