Dascombe eyeing Cheltenham Festival first with Hot Fuss

Tom Dascombe has saddled big-race winners around the world, but on Tuesday he could break new ground and have a runner at the Cheltenham Festival if Hot Fuss makes the cut for the Hallgarten And Novum Wines Juvenile Handicap Hurdle

Hot Fuss is currently 23rd on the list of acceptors after Wednesday’s confirmations and will need one to come out at Sunday’s declaration stage to guarantee a place in the race more commonly known as the Fred Winter.

It is something of a change to the norm for Dascombe, who is more accustomed to saddling runners in the summer sun at Chester’s May meeting and Royal Ascot.

However, the Group One-winning handler is relishing stepping into uncharted territory with his rare jumps performer, who the bookmakers make a 14-1 chance for success – and who Dascombe himself describes as a “live chance”.

Dascombe said: “It’s really different for me and I didn’t expect to be going to Cheltenham – and I also didn’t expect I would be going with a live chance, but it’s fun and that’s what life is about.

“He hasn’t changed his work programme or anything at all, other than every now and again he goes and has a little jump. He canters in his old routine with all the Flat horses and when they’re fit, they’re fit. Other than that, he eats, sleeps and is happy.”

Faced with what now reads as an ominous task on his hurdling debut at Wincanton, Hot Fuss matched strides with East India Dock for the majority of the contest before jumping errors late on allowed James Owen’s Triumph Hurdle hope to stride clear.

He has since won at Sandown and performed respectably in the gloom at Chepstow over the Christmas period, before returning to his Flat roots to tune up for the Cheltenham Festival by scoring at Southwell on Winter Derby day.

“I’ve watched the replay of the Wincanton race a hundred times and come up with the final answer that East India Dock beat us comfortably,” continued Dascombe.

“But we put it up to him until the last, where we got tired because we were probably out of our comfort zone. If we hadn’t dipped on landing after the second-last, we probably wouldn’t have made a mistake at the last and then I think we could have given him a right race.

“Nothing has got near that horse since and you wish James Owen and the owners of East India Dock a lot of luck in the Triumph.

“After Wincanton, he bolted up at Sandown but I haven’t a clue, like most people, what happened at Chepstow because we couldn’t even see the race.

“He won really well at Southwell the other day and he must go to Cheltenham with a live chance. Let’s hope we get a run, it would be lovely.”