MOUSE MORRIS is still juggling with his Christmas options for War Of Attrition but has kept open the Lexus Chase route for his 2006 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner.

The Co Tipperary trainer travelled to England earlier this week and walked the Kempton track ahead of next Friday's King George VI Chase.

Morris described the going as "goodish" on that occasion and he is keen to give War Of Attrition the chance to race on a decent surface after the horse ran third to Noland on deep ground in the John Durkan Memorial earlier this month.

Soft conditions are being forecast for Leopardstown over Christmas but War Of Attrition's name still features among the 13 left in the €200,000 Lexus Chase at yesterday's forfeit stage.

"It would certainly be easier to stay at home rather than go to Kempton but that isn't the deciding factor. Nice ground would be a bonus too. But I still have to make my mind up," Morris said yesterday.

The three-mile Lexus is the third-day festival feature at Leopardstown and it has attracted a powerful five-strong British entry including the Paul Nicholls-trained Neptune Collonges who has won the last two runnings of the Guinness Gold Cup at Punchestown.

Nicholls landed the Lexus last year with the subsequent Gold Cup-hero Denman but other British contenders this time include the 2007 Gold Cup runner-up Exotic Dancer as well that hardy Leopardstown annual The Listener.

Charlie Mann has left in the Hennessy runner-up Air Force One but like War Of Attrition he also has the option of running in the King George.

Tom Taaffe is triple-handed in the Lexus with Glenfinn Captain, Slim Pickings and Cane Brake all possible runners although Jim Dreaper's Notre Pere is more likely to run in the Welsh National the day before.

The Knight Frank Chase is the other Grade One event on Sunday week where the Drinmore-winner Trafford Lad heads an entry of 16 horses.

On the same afternoon Edward O'Grady will give Catch Me a try at three miles in the woodiesdiy Christmas Hurdle although it is unlikely that will mean a clash with Brave Inca.

Both horses are among the 16 entries for the woodies and while O'Grady has committed his Hatton's Grace winner to the marathon distance, Brave Inca remains more likely to run over two miles in Monday week's Leopardstown Golf December Festival Hurdle.

"I left him in just in case there was nothing left in it. It might have been an easy option. But it is unlikely he will run there," Brave Inca's trainer Colm Murphy said yesterday.

"I've not done a thing about jockeys but hopefully Davy (Russell) or somebody will be free to ride him."

Also left in among the contenders for the big hurdles prize of the festival is last season's AIG winner Sizing Europe and two other former Champion Hurdle winners, Hardy Eustace and Sublimity.

Noel Meade has trio of entries, Aitmatov, Muirhead and Harchibald. The latter has a number of other options although Meade stressed: "If the ground looks like being too soft then he probably won't run anywhere."

Colm Murphy has also yet to make a call about where his star novice prospect Zaarito will appear over the Christmas period.

Zaarito has entries in the Grade One Future Champions Novice Hurdle as well as a maiden hurdle next Saturday.

"The maiden is so good it almost looks like a Grade One itself so we will have to look at our options. There are a number of them," Murphy said.