Gargamel, the winner of the 2014 edition of the Grand National Hurdles, has been going over the bigger steeplechase fences this season with an eye to the Grand National Steeplechase but produced a flat effort at Timaru two weeks ago, prompting trainer Leda Beck to line up the gelding in an open hurdle today.
"I know he's 9 years of age, but he's still a young chaser,'' regular jockey Alan Browne said.
"He's made a couple of small, silly mistakes over steeplechase fences which knocks his confidence a wee bit.
"So the main goal is just to get him back to a hurdle and give him a bit of confidence towards the Grand National meeting. There's no point going in if he's not confident.''
Browne cited the training techniques of leading jumps conditioner Kevin Myers, who lines up Viceroy against Gargamel today.
"If you look at Kevin Myers, you can't go wrong. He's not a silly fella and he runs them over hurdles and the chases,'' Browne said.
"There must be something in it if Kevin Myers is doing it and he's winning races.''
The dead track perhaps caught Gargamel out at Timaru, although Browne said it needed to be the right kind of rain-affected track for the son of Sunray to show his best with a 70kg impost.
"If it's loose, he'll love it,'' Browne said.
"I don't think the weight will be an issue to him . . . but just the ground, if it's too holding and tacky, he won't like it as much.''
Browne rides Double Tap for the first time in the maiden hurdles, and conversations with the 6yr-old's previous jockey, Michael Mitchell, suggested the Kerry and Ian Taplin-trained runner seems to be getting comfortable with the hurdling caper after three attempts for a second and two thirds.
"Just in his races he's been making some silly mistakes, probably just because he's trying to rush them a wee bit,'' Browne said.
"To be honest, I'm going into the maiden with a bit of confidence. If he jumps good, he should be thereabouts.''
Dalwhinnie is another galloper being aimed towards the Grand National carnival.
The stylish mare was put aside after an unlucky spring campaign ended with a flying third at Wingatui on Boxing Day.
"She's better with a wee bit of cut in the track and the tracks didn't look like they were easing up much around that area, so it was a good time to chuck her out and she got some good weather,'' her Wingatui trainer, Terry Kennedy, said.
Dalwhinnie made a public appearance at Wingatui on June 5, winning the track riders' charity race over 800m.
"That was the only time she had a hit-along on race day or trials day, so she seems very bright.''
The winner of five of her 14 starts will carry 58kg after jockey Jake Lowry's 2kg claim.
"I think she's going to be pretty hard to beat with that sort of weight on her back.''
Kennedy will take the 5yr-old to Oamaru for the Oamaru Cup on July 17 before going into the Winter Cup at Riccarton on August 6.
