BLACKBURN Rovers' Brockhall training base was gripped by racing fever today as Spectrometer prepared to make its Cheltenham debut.

Rovers skipper Garry Flitcroft and his Ewood team-mates David Dunn, Matt Jansen and Alan Miller all own a stake in the six-year-old, which was due to run in the Coral Cup Hurdle.

And they were set to be joined in cheering it to victory by their former UEFA Cup rivals from Celtic as Bhoys midfielder Neil Lennon is also a member of the syndicate.

The horse, which is trained by Phillip Hobbs and was expected to be ridden by leading jump jockey Richard Johnson, was rated as a 16/1 shot for the showcase handicap.

And Rovers keeper Miller was confident it had the pedigree to finish among the places.

"We've been lucky with it so far so, hopefully, somewhere along the line this year we can win a nice race and it would be lovely if it won today," said the former West Brom stopper.

"But regardless of the result, it's just fantastic to have a runner at the Cheltenham Festival.

"It's like the FA Cup in football, it's absolutely fantastic.

"I've been into flat racing before but this is the best you can run in and we've got Richard Johnson, who is one of the best jockeys, riding it.

"There's going to be 30 runners so we'll need a lot of luck but you never know.

"I think we are going there with some sort of chance so it should be good."

Spectrometer has already brought its celebrity owners some success having won a flat race at York last year as a 33/1 shot.