Trainer Michael Scudamore is hoping a breathing operation will make the crucial difference between Next Sensation winning the Grand Annual Chase after last year ’ s near miss . The eight-year-old put in a spectacular front-running performance in the Festival finale before fading into fourth beaten one and three-quarter lengths by Savello . It was initially hoped the improving gelding might even be up to challenging the top two-mile chasers this season but he has failed to win in four runs , most recently at Newbury in November . Consequently , he lines up in the Grand Annual off a mark only 1lb higher than he raced off 12 months ago . Next Sensation ridden by jockey Tom Scudamore in The Doom Bar Maghull Novices ' Steeple Chase . Jockey Davy Russell on Savello ( right ) wins the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Steeple Chase . Scudamore , who also plans to saddle Grand National contender Monbeg Dude at the Festival , said : ‘ He had a racecourse gallop and that went very well and a breathing operation since his last run . ‘ Hopefully , that and better ground we will see him back to somewhere he should be . ‘ He hates the soft ground and every time we have run him this year it has nearly been heavy . We actually thought he ran a great race at Newbury considering the conditions. ’ Monbeg Dude goes onto finish third in The Betfred Grand National Trial at Haydock Park . Sponsors William Hill make David Pipe ’ s Bidourey 6-1 favourite to preserve his unbeaten record in the Imperial Cup at Sandown on Saturday . Bidourey holds Festival entries in the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle and Triumph Hurdle and would secure a £100,000 bonus if he manages to win the Imperial Cup and go on to success at Cheltenham . Pipe has won the Imperial Cup three times in the last 10 years , twice with four-year-olds – Gaspara in 2007 and Ashkazar in 2008 . Gaspara successfully secured the bonus with success in the Fred Winter but Ashkazar was second . Bidourey ridden jumps the last to win the Nomad Novices ' Hurdle Race at Leicester Racecourse . Irish trainer Gordon Elliott has booked crack amateur jockey Jamie Codd to ride Cause of Causes in the four-mile National Hunt Chase on the opening day of the Festival . The seven-year-old , who was second in last year ’ s Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Chase , looks to have been trained specifically for the race have run only three times since , most recently over hurdles . Davy Condon riding Cause Of Causes win The Ladbroke Hurdle Race at Ascot racecourse in 2012 .
Michael Scudamore 's Next Sensation will run at the Cheltenham Festival . The eight-year-old was beaten in to fourth last year by Savello . He lines up in the Grand Annual off 1lb higher mark than 12 months ago . Scudamore hopes operation and better ground will see him go close .