NORTON trainer Malcolm Jefferson plans to be double handed in the Rowland Meyrick Chase – the feature contest of Wetherby Racecourse’s Boxing Day meeting.

Rising star King Fontaine and According To Pete are set to compete in the £40,000 Grade 3 race, which boasts a roll of honour including the likes of future Gold Cup winners Forgive ‘N’ Forget and The Thinker.

King Fontaine recorded a comfortable victory in a novice chase at Wetherby in April and the Trevor Hemmings-owned seven-year-old has triumphed on his three subsequent starts, culminating in an 11-length verdict over leading Welsh National contender Dance Island in a competitive handicap chase at Haydock last month.

According To Pete produced a string of fine efforts in some of the season’s leading handicap chases last term, including when coming home fifth in the Grade 3 Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham and taking third in the Grade 2 Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock.

The nine-year-old stayed on to finish fourth on his seasonal return in the Listed bet365 Handicap Chase over an extended two-and-a-half miles at Wetherby in October before fading to 11th in a valuable Listed fixed brush handicap hurdle at Haydock on November 20 – a race he landed in 2008.

Jefferson said: “King Fontaine will be heading to Wetherby for the coral.co.uk Rowland Meyrick Handicap Chase and he will hopefully be joined by According To Pete. He’s a nice horse but he has been hammered by the handicapper – he’s gone up 20lb for winning his last two races. He won by 11 lengths at Haydock but there were a couple of horses making their first start of the season, the favourite fell early on and they all stopped in front of him.

“According To Pete has come out of his last run at Haydock in good order and we may have just sat too near to the pace with him on that occasion. He likes to be up there but it was a good old gallop and the winner looks a very good horse.

“He ran a good race on his seasonal return at Wetherby when he got stopped completely – a horse ran right across in front of him on the first fence down the back and he was almost brought to a standstill. He was given little respite by the handicapper last season but he is rated 130 at the moment, which is round about his correct mark.”

Racing gets underway at 12.20pm on Boxing Day with the coral.co.uk Novices’ Handicap Hurdle and the six-race programme runs through to 3.15pm with the coral.co.uk Handicap Hurdle.

Taking centre stage on day two of the Coral Christmas Meeting is the £15,000 coral.co.uk Castleford Chase over two miles, a race which in recent seasons has fallen to Santa’s Son (2008), dual winner Calatagan (2007 and 2006) and Wetherby specialist Mister McGoldrick (2005).

Monday, December 27, also features a six race programme which starts at 12.35pm with the coral.co.uk Novices’ Hurdle and goes through to the coral.co.uk Handicap Hurdle.