Findon trainer Luke Dace walked from the grandstand at Newbury with a satisfied smile after the three-mile Mandarin chase on Monday.

Considering his runner Keltic Heritage had finished 50 lengths behind the winner, Desailly, it may have appeared a strange reaction.

But he has been a difficult horse to train and, in fact, ran a super race, staying up with the leaders for two-and-a-half miles before tiring.

Keltic Heritage was ridden by Charlie Studd, a useful 7lb claiming amateur who has point to point and Arabian winners to his credit, plus a couple of recent victories over fences for trainer Brendan Powell.

Dace said: "Keltic Heritage is being aimed at the Kim Muir Chase at Cheltenham in March. The race is for amateurs and I wanted Charlie to get to know him.

"I couldn't be more pleased with how the horse jumped for him at Newbury and Charlie gave him a very good ride."

Keltic Heritage was having his first race for two months and, since he only has a saddle on his back a couple of times a week, he was entitled to get tired after such an extended break.

"The problem is that he has a vulnerable back," Luke explained.

"It took me a while to learn all about him when he came over from Ireland where he had won point to points but been a relative failure in professional races."

Even recognised physiotherapists specialising in back problems have been unable to pinpoint a chronic ailment and that is the reason Keltic Heritage is ridden as little as possible and getting him race fit is a challenge.

Dace said: "He will canter or do a bit of work every third day with the lightest possible weight on his back, go out in a paddock with a New Zealand rug or go in the loose school unridden on the other days. Luckily he does not need a great deal of galloping to get him fit."

With National Hunt meetings at Cheltenham the ultimate objective, Dace has another card up his sleeve - swimming.

"It is the best possible exercise for horses and humans without putting stress on vulnerable parts of the anatomy like backs and legs," Dace said.

So Keltic Heritage is off for a fortnight's equine hydrotherapy at Jim Wilson's swimming pool at Charlton Kings near Cheltenham.

Dace said: "There is not a commercial equine pool in Sussex and, anyway, I like the way Jim and Melinda run their operation. I get an accurate report every day and I have total confidence in the Wilson set-up."

After the first two weeks in January at Charlton Kings, Keltic Heritage will come back to Sussex to be prepared for the Great Yorkshire chase at Doncaster at the end of the month.

With his 7lb allowance, Studd is likely to renew his acquaintance with the ten-year-old and, if all goes well, the team will be hard to beat at Cheltenham in March.

Dace sums up Keltic Heritage's problem in an analytical fashion.

"When his back is hurting him, his stride shortens by five or six inches and that equates to possibly 50 or 60 lengths over three miles which speaks for itself.

"As his jumping is so good it is possible he is most comfortable when he is in the air. That's my theory and that's the plan.

"Keltic Heritage is a challenge and, so far, I think we have met it. Time will tell if it all works out."

Keltic Heritage is not the only possible Cheltenham runner for the 13-horse Sussex stable. Italian Counsel, winner of four successive races in the summer, is a tentative entry for the prestigious Champion Hurdle.

Dace said: "Italian Counsel beat the highly rated Rigmarole, among others, when he was winning his races and almost everything he has beaten has come out and won.

"Italian Counsel has had a nice rest and if he puts up a good show in the Imperial Cup Handicap Hurdle at Sandown early in March he will go to Cheltenham."

Italian Counsel will have a prep race on the flat at Lingfield prior to Sandown and Dace takes the view that, although the hurdle championship is an ambitious target, his horse could run into a place and the race would be a good deal more straightforward than some of the multi-runner handicap hurdles at the national hunt meeting.

The Dace horsebox could contain a third runner on its way to Cheltenham in March if recent Ascot-placed Broomers Hill continues to progress.

Dace said: "Ruby Walsh said when he came in at Ascot that two-and-a-half miles would suit him, so we will see how he gets on in the meantime.

"His owner Michael Watt would love to have a runner at the meeting and, if Broomers Hill goes, there he will run a big race."

Dace's only runner today is the curiously named Flecthefawna in the Beginners Chase (1.10) at Folkestone.

The trainer is hopeful rather than confident but one thing he is totally happy with is that he has already beaten last season's total of winners (11 as against seven) and he is well on the way to reaching his target of £100,000 in earnings with only £28,000 to go.

Dace's 23 per cent strike rate shows a healthy profit of £42 to a £1 level stake, exceeded by only three trainers in the top 100, and that is good news for punters.