Lalor*was beaten when odds-on favourite on his recent hurdling debut at Exeter but only went down by a short-head and the trainer expects to see a sharper performance when he next takes to the track.
Woollacott told sportinglife.com: “Lalor is ever so well. He jumped well and learned a lot at Exeter and while we possibly didn’t quite get the tactics right on the day, it was a good positive experience for the horse and that’s the most important thing.
“We’ve entered him at Cheltenham and it’ll be either there or Ascot the following weekend I’d imagine, Tom (Scudamore) will be in to school him over the next day or two but he looks to have sharpened up quite a bit.
“It’d be amazing for a small yard like ours to have a runner with a real chance in a race like the Supreme as we’ve only around 15 horses in and are not in the same league financially as some of the big stables.”
Lalor is one of 11 entries for the first in the Sky Bet-backed series of six races on the road to the Supreme next March, a race won by Moon Racer and Altior in the past two years.
Colin Tizzard has two potential contenders in the highly-regarded*Slate House*and*Vision des Flos, while Nicky Henderson is also represented as he could unleash the JP McManus-owned*Dame de Compagnie.
Dan Skelton’s*Bedrock*and the Henry Daly-trained*Whatmore*are also joined by Nicky Richards’*Better Getalong, Charlie Longsdon’s*Monty’s Award, Daniele Steele's*Cassivellaunus*Tom George’s*Summerville Boy*and*Western Ryder*from the Warren Greatrex stable.
The sponsors betting:*Slate House 6/4, Dame De Compagnie 7/4, Lalor 6/1, Western Ryder 7/1, Bedrock 8/1, Vision Des Flos 9/1, Better Getalong 14/1, Summerville Boy 14/1, Whatmore 14/1, Monty's Award 16/1, Cassivellaunus 150/1
