THE Cheltenham Festival is now less than two months away, but for a lot of trainers, plans for the biggest meeting in jumps racing remain in a state of flux.

The unseasonably dry weather has meant trainers have been reluctant to run their soft-ground horses on going that would not suit, and a number of horses still have multiple entries, with their final destination unlikely to become clear until the state of the Festival ground is revealed.

Nevertheless, the ante-post markets are beginning to take shape – and here are five Northern horses from our region that look capable of making an impact.

The Northern Echo:

WAITING PATIENTLY (Ruth Jefferson)

Rarely has a horse’s name been more apt. The Jeffersons waited patiently with their star chaser last year, swerving Cheltenham to target a tilt at the Aintree festival, but a tendon injury scuppered their plans.

The first half of this season was built around a crack at the King George, but Waiting Patiently was brought down by the falling Bristol De Mai before his race had got going.

Since then? More frustration, with a succession of entries scrapped because of the fast ground. With a lack of three-mile chasing options, Ruth Jefferson has ruled out a run in the Gold Cup, meaning the two-and-a-half mile Ryanair Chase on the Thursday of the Festival is now the target.

Waiting Patiently proved his liking for the trip when he hammered Cue Card at Ascot last February, but he could desperately do with another run to prove his wellbeing before March. The Dublin Chase at next month’s Leopardstown Racing Festival looks the likeliest target, although the eight-year-old could step up in trip to tackle the Irish Gold Cup.

DEFINITELY RED (Brian Ellison)

Malton trainer Brian Ellison claims Definitely Red is one of the most underrated horses in training. That might change if his stable star runs to his best in the Gold Cup.

Definitely Red disappointed on his favoured soft ground in last year’s Gold Cup, trailing in 39 lengths adrift of Native River in sixth position, and after he unseated his rider at a relatively early stage of the Grand National, it was assumed another attempt to the Aintree marathon would be his priority this season.

Instead, his autumn performances have put Cheltenham firmly back on the agenda, with the ten-year-old cruising to victory in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby before adding another Grade Two success to his CV as he eased home in the Many Clouds Chase at Aintree.

Is he good enough to win a Gold Cup? Probably not if the ground is quicker than good-to-soft. But in a year when so many of the leading names have flopped in the first half of the season, his current odds of 33-1 make considerable each-way appeal.

FABIANSKI (Rebecca Menzies)

Rebecca Menzies has never had a runner at the Cheltenham Festival, although she was heavily involved in readying a few winners in her previous guise as assistant to Ferdy Murphy.

She trains on her own now, based at John Wade’s stables close to Sedgefield Racecourse, and has been in sensational form over the last few months, saddling a succession of winners over the jumps and on the flat.

One of her biggest successes has been Fabianski, a £2,000 purchase from the stable of Pam Sly who has been completely transformed since he was sent over hurdles.

A 17-length win in a juvenile hurdle at Wetherby set tongues wagging, with a subsequent nine-length romp at Catterick proving the win was no fluke. The limit of his talents is still to be explored, leading to speculation that he could be aimed at the Triumph Hurdle on the Festival’s final day.

LADY BUTTONS (Philip Kirby)

Based at East Appleton, near Catterick, Philip Kirby is enjoying an extremely successful season, and in the admirable mare, Lady Buttons, he boasts a star turn capable of challenging for major honours at Cheltenham.

She finished fourth in the Maghull Novices’ Chase at last year’s Aintree Festival, and has stepped up again this season, winning all three of her outings so far.

The pick of those performances came last month, when she justified favouritism to land the listed Yorkshire Silver Vase Mares’ Chase at Doncaster, and she also claimed listed honours over hurdles at Wetherby in November.

Kirby has not been afraid to aim high, entering Lady Buttons in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, and while Altior will be exceptionally hard to beat, the race could well fall apart, making her current odds of 66-1 an attractive each-way play.

SAM SPINNER (Jedd O’Keefe)

It is safe to say that things have not gone to plan for Sam Spinner since he travelled to last year’s Cheltenham Festival as the ante-post favourite for the Stayers’ Hurdle.

With his stamina not fully utilised by a snail-like early pace, the Middleham-based hurdler could only finish fifth. A third-placed finish at Aintree confirmed his promise, and it was hoped he would bounce back to his best at the start of this season.

Instead, his two runs so far this term have been a disaster, with him failing to complete at either Newbury or Ascot.

His last outing, in the JLT Hurdle, saw his jumping completely fall apart, so you would to take a lot on trust to back him for this year’s Stayers’ Hurdle. That said, however, you do not become a bad horse overnight, and while he went off last year at 9-4, he is currently priced at 50-1 for this year’s renewal. If he can return to anything close to his best, those odds will be an insult.