Champion Chase Fancy Finians Rainbow To Make Seasonal Debut

Nicky Henderson is finally ready to give the exciting Finian's Rainbow his seasonal debut over Christmas and it will be a race to keep a close eye on. Connections have made it clear they expect Finians Raimbow a start in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton on Tuesday and it could be a cracking renewal. The horse was a top novice chaser last year with a second place finish in the Arke the highlight of a hugely encouraging season. He followed that up with a Grade 1 win at Aintree in the Maghull Novices Chase and many have tipped him to go to the Champion Chase at Cheltenham with strong claims. The Michael Buckley owned horses was due to have his first start in the Tingle Creek at the start of the month but he has been held back a few weeks to ensure he hits the ground running in good form.

At the moment the Champion Chase division is looking competitive with Sizing Europe currently the horse to beat in the latest show of betting. He of course won the race at Cheltenham last season and will be tough to beat but the bookies believe that Finians Rainbow could be the best of the younger horses. The Nicky Henderson yard is in hot form at the moment and they have made no secret of how much they think of Finians Rainbow over the past couple of years. He won four of his five races last season in novice company and it will be interesting to see how he fares against some old rivals at Kempton on Tuesday. Also set to run on Tuesday are the likes of Ghizao and Whishfull Thinking in what looks like a stellar renewal of the race with three potential Champion Chase contenders set to go head-to-head. All eyes though will be on Finians Rainbow as he returns to the track for the first time since April with his route to Cheltenham now firmly mapped out.

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