Carruthers on for a cross-country campaign after the Hennessy loss
Every trainer and stable had a very different point of view when directing their under charges for the Hennessy Gold Cup, but the most over board target was set by the connections of the most brutal failure in the field, Carruthers. The nine-year-old bay
gelding had landed the 2011 edition of the race and was expected to achieve what the iconic hurdler, Arkle, did, strike a back-to-back.
It was back in 1964 and 1965 that Arkle accomplished what has been impossible for many down all these years.
"I'm really looking forward to it. I hope it doesn't dry up too much and make it really sticky ground. especially after a day's racing on Friday," his trainer Mark Bradstock told At The Races.
This is what the trainer commented before the race with a dream larger than life at the back of his mind.
The race day came as a shattering reality as his nine-year-old bay gelding could not muster the conviction to compete and handle the heat in the field. He finished a very sorry last as the race was won by the Nicky Henderson trained, Bobs Worth, while the
runner-up’s honour was collected by the Paul Nicholls’ trained, Tidal Bay.
The failure however has forced the connections to think of more viable and practical options for their 2011 Hennessy winner. A cross-country campaign they think can direct their bay gelding to an all new career.
Sara Bradstock, wife of the Oxfordshire-based handler, said: "He's probably as well as he ever has been, but he's feeling mentally over-faced by where he is in the handicap. We won't run him in a good race again until we've got him back to where we want
him."
She added: "I think what we might try to do is see if he likes the cross-country races - it's another option for him.”
His retirement is not the likely option that the connections or the gelding himself seem prepared for so they want to give the cross-country campaign a shot.
Carruthers did end last in the race, but then there were more who could not finish in the frame of the first three positions. The good news here right now is that the connections instead of playing the blame game have put in mind and are already considering
alternatives.
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