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Silver Cup at Ascot in December, is also in the Ryanair Chase. We’ve been a little disappointed with him so far this season, although to be fair to him, I don’t think he’s had his ground yet - he prefers decent going. The ground will dictate which direction we go with him.”

Another from the Egerton stable heading to Prestbury Park in March is four-year-old Freeze The Flame, on course for a crack at the JCB Triumph Hurdle. The ex-Flat performer has landed three of his six starts over hurdles to date, yet his best form came when chasing home the prolific Katchit in the Grade Two Ryman The Stationer Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on November 11.

The handler commented: “The JCB Triumph Hurdle is the plan for Freeze The Flame. He has been trained specifically for the race, and I am very happy with him.

“I cannot understand why he is quoted at 33/1, because we were only beaten a neck by Katchit [currently disputing favouritism for the two-mile, one furlong event] in November. You can forget his last run - he was a bit flat that day but still managed to finish second.”

Hobbs Hill, second to subsequent Grade Two hurdle scorer Amaretto Rose at Ascot in December before storming home by 17 lengths at Folkestone on January 30, and Vinando, a talented stayer on the Flat who broke his duck over hurdles at Fontwell in November, are other possible Festival contenders for Egerton, who is looking for victory number three this year.

He added: “We don’t have a huge string, but we prefer to focus on quality rather than quantity, and I have some nice horses in the yard at present.

“Having a winner at The Festival would be great for the yard and I would love to be victorious there every year! If you’re hungry for success, you always want to have more wins at places like Cheltenham, and hopefully we can add a couple more this March.”