Philip Hobbs aiming for Captain Chris’ return at Ascot
Trainer Philip Hobbs has set sights on Captain Chris’s return to the racecourse in the Betfair Chase, to be held at Ascot in February.
The eight-year-old remained out of action for almost a month after finishing third in the William Hill King George VI Chase, last month.
His comeback outing was a nightmare for the connections, as the horse could not complete the race in the Argento Chase, held at Cheltenham last Saturday, January 28.
Since he could not jump after going badly towards right, the jockey, Richard Johnson pulled up before the eighth fence.
However, Hobbs still has full confidence in his trainee, and has been training Captain Chris for a strong return at Ascot on February 18.
Captain Chris’s last big success came in May last year, when he sealed a convincing victory in the Grade 1 Ryanair Novice Chase.
The raging horse did justice to his favourite tag, and beat, Realt Dubh, by 1 ¼ lengths.
Although he was not fluent at the fourth hurdle, he quickly regained his momentum to take a lead that he maintained till the finish.
Hobbs has no doubt over Captain Chris’s abilities, and is looking forward to his powerful comeback at Ascot.
"He's absolutely fine, no problem at all. We obviously need to go back to the drawing board after he jumped right-handed, which he has always done. His next obvious race, provided everything goes all right, is Ascot because it's right-handed - the
two-mile-five chase they have there on February 18," said the Minehead handler.
Hobbs is also hopeful about Menorah's recovery after a terrible tumble at Doncaster on Saturday. The seven-year-old failed to make an impression, and fell down at the third fence.
Menorah is scheduled to take part in Arkle Challenge Trophy Chase at Cheltenham in March this year.
Talking about his preparations for the high profile competition, the trainer described that the horse is fine, however, the connections are looking for a race ahead of Cheltenham challenge.
"He's perfectly all right as well. Obviously we need to get some schooling into him. Hopefully we can find a race for him before we go to Cheltenham," Hobbs shared.
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