WHILE most Dorset eyes will be on hot prospects Rooster Booster and Kingscliff at the Chelten-ham Festival next week, there are other county runners worth considering at National Hunt racing's premier meeting.

One such challenger is old stager Woodlands Beau who has an appointment in Thursday's prestigious Christie's Foxhunter Chase Challenge Cup.

The 14-year-old gelding is owned by Dorset Echo bowls correspondent David Briers and trained by Sally Alner, wife of Kingscliff handler Robert, at Droop near Blandford.

And while the bookies rank him as a 33-1 outsider, his owner is slightly more confident of his chances.

Briers said: "Personally I'm not a betting man and so the price makes no difference to me. He's run something in the region of 64 races and I've never backed him once.

"He's not expected to win and I guess that's reflected in the betting. But you never know in jump racing and so it's not beyond the realms of possibility that he could run a place."

The owner's decision to send him to the Festival came after an impressive course and distance performance last summer when Woodlands ran second in the Winning Post At Cheltenham Hunters' Chase.

"He's been running in point-to-points this season," explained Briers, "but we know he can handle Cheltenham and that run last year convinced us to give him his chance.

"Primarily we're sending him there for fun and the main priority is that he gets round safely. Anything more will be a big bonus.

"The Festival is the most important three days in jump racing's calendar and it's a wonderful spectacle. Having a runner there is the highlight of any owner's career and we're really looking forward it.

"Woodland's is actually owned by my wife and I but this season we've leased him out to a syndicate of which we are both members. That means there's a group of us who will be sampling the Festival experience and I think it's great that so many can enjoy what is a unforgettable day out."

A win for Woodlands Beau would secure a remarkable double for the horse's trainer - Sally Alner saddled Kingscliff to

victory in last season's corresponding contest.

"Dorset has a great tradition in the Foxhunter," explained Briers, "as was underlined by Kingscliff last year. He's now got a great chance in this year's Tote Gold Cup and the county also has Rooster Booster to cheer in the Champion Hurdle.

"A lot of Woodland's work at home is overseen by the Alner's assistant trainer Nick Mitchell who is the son of Rooster's

breeder Elsie Mitchell down at Plush near Dorchester and Nick actually rode the horse for me in all his races last year.

"This time around he'll be ridden by Tom Dreaper who is the grandson of the trainer of the great Arkle.

"I don't know whether it's an omen or not but this year's Festival marks the 40th anniversary of Arkle's first Gold Cup win at Cheltenham so who knows?"

Arkle ran six times at Cheltenham, and won on five occasions. He was beaten a short head and a length into third place in the 1964 Massey-Ferguson Gold Cup.