Hughes waiting on weather

Dessie Hughes has yet to finalise his plans for the JNwine.com Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday.

The trainer has both Schindlers Hunt and Siegemaster entered for the Grade One contest but will only run one, depending on the state of the ground.

The former is considered better on good ground, while last season's novice Siegemaster would relish a mudbath.

"Schindlers Hunt might run, but if it comes up heavy he won't," said Hughes. "At the moment we would like to run him, but the forecast for Friday is quite bad and if they get the deluge of rain they are expecting it will go heavy.

"We half intend to run Siegemaster in the second-season novice race on the same card (Ladbrokes.com Chase) but if it did go heavy, which suits him, we might chance him in the big one.

"The race he had at Wexford was ideal, it just left him right for something like this. Nobody would begrudge Schindlers a big one. It will happen this year, please God.

"There is an argument he's better in the spring, but that is when he gets his ground. He just struggles in heavy - he ran in it in Cork last year and was below his best.

"The first day he won in February at Leopardstown the ground was good and he went on from there.

"Good ground is the key. Even though he ran well at Punchestown in heavy behind Notre Pere, it didn't suit him."