Triumph hope Allmankind goes straight to Cheltenham

Leading JCB Triumph Hurdle fancy Allmankind will head straight to the Cheltenham Festival in March, with connections abandoning the idea of an outing at the course next week.

Dan Skelton, who trains the son of Sea The Moon for breeders Bill Gredley and his son Tim, recently raised the possibility of an appearance at the track's Trials day, but on Saturday shelved that idea.

Successful in the Grade 1 Coral Finale Juvenile Hurdle at Chepstow over Christmas, Allmankind is a general 7-1 for the Triumph.

"I worked him this morning and he worked all right, but I know when he's at his absolute best and he's just ten per cent below that," Skelton said.

"He had his flu vaccination after Chepstow. Sometimes they get over it in a day and sometimes they get over it in a month, and he's going to be more like a month.

"He's one of the favourites for the Triumph and, if I can get him to turn up in the form that he's been in, he's going to be a top-end competitor and I've got to make sure that happens."

Trained on the Flat by Michael Bell, the four-year-old is unbeaten since switching codes, winning at Warwick and Cheltenham before his Chepstow success.

The Triumph betting is headed at 5-1 by Henry de Bromhead's hope Aspire Tower, who is two from two over hurdles, while Goshen, a winner at Ascot on Saturday for Gary Moore, can be backed at 6-1.

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