Queen Mother hopes Sceaux and Sire clash in Clarence House Chase

Gary Moore’s stable star showed tremendous battling qualities to land the Tingle Creek at Sandown for a second time, and lost little in defeat last time out when going down by just 3/4 of a length to Sprinter Sacre after a titanic tussle in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton.

Judged on those efforts Sire De Grugy remains a real force to be reckoned with, and he is sure to give Un De Sceaux plenty to think about.

Rivals preparing for Cheltenham showdown

It will be fascinating to see how he gets on against his younger rival, and current odds of 7/1 with Coral about him regaining his Queen Mother crown in March could look big if he does take Un De Sceaux’s scalp.

Moore could also be represented by Traffic Fluide (16/1), who was last seen taking minor honours in the Grade 1 Maghull Novices’ Chase at Aintree last April.

Sprinter Sacre was the only withdrawal at the five-day stage, with his trainer Nicky Henderson keeping in Captain Conan (25/1), who has been sidelined since fracturing his pelvis during the 2014 Champion Chase.

Completing the septet are Nicky Richards’ Simply Ned (12/1), runner-up in the Leopardstown race behind Flemenstar in which Un De Sceaux fell, and Vibrato Valtat (10/1) who finished 3 3/4 lengths behind Sire De Grugy at Kempton.

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