The JP McManus team is readying its resources for next week’s Cheltenham Festival although one star name not heading to the Cotswolds is Fakir D’oudairies.
Last month’s Ascot Chase winner is set to skip a clash with his old rival Allaho in the Ryanair Chase.
Fakir D’oudairies was runner-up to Allaho in last year’s Ryanair when beaten by a dozen lengths. He subsequently went one better last season in the Melling Chase at Aintree and that race is likely to be his next target.
Fakir D’oudairies was fourth to Allaho in December’s John Durkan Chase at Punchestown and runner-up to Willie Mullins’s star at Thurles in January.
However, he secured a third career Grade One success in the Ascot Chase when getting the better of Two For Gold at Ascot.
“He put up a good performance and had a hard race in Ascot. I’d say he will wait now until Liverpool. With Allaho being there as well, it just gives us a bit more time to wait for Liverpool. That’s our way of thinking,” said McManus’s spokesman Frank Berry on Tuesday.
Fakir D’oudairies’ absence will leave Allaho as one of the sho …
- March 9, 2022
