Tom Scudamore in no hurry to decide on Grands Crus’ participation in the Gold Cup
Jockey Tom Scudamore has said that there is no urgency in deciding on Grands Crus’ participation in the Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup, scheduled to be held in March this year.
The seven-year-old is among the favourites for the RSA Chase, which will take place at the Cheltenham Festival only a couple of days ahead of the Gold Cup.
However, his involvement in the Gold Cup is still a big question mark, and the rider is determined not to make any hasty decisions.
The exciting grey gelding was expected to take part in Saturday's Argento Chase at Cheltenham, but the trainer, David Pipe opted to miss the event at the final moment.
On Grands Crus’ omission from the line-up for the Argento Chase, Scudamore said, "David just felt he didn't want to have too hard a race with the festival in mind.”
"Today's race is very competitive. Bar Kauto Star and Long Run it's a repeat of what will be the Gold Cup in March. Grands Crus will be given more entries and I think David's talking about a novice chase at Newbury in two weeks. There's no getting away from it - it's a top-class field and it's great the race has attracted so many good horses, but we just felt this wasn't the best option. There are plenty more options coming up," added the rider who has partnered the horse in 12 of his 14 starts.
Grands Crus’ previous outing was in the Williamhill.com Feltham Novices' Chase last month. The 6 to 5 betting favourite lived up to his high reputation, sealing the top position convincingly. He beat the runner-up, Silviniaco Conti by 2 ¼ lengths.
Grands Crus' victory in the Grade 1 Chase stretched his uneaten run to three, and he will definitely be a strong contender for the Gold Cup title.
However, Scudamore explained there would be plenty of discussion among the connections before any final decision about his participation.
Meanwhile, the jockey called it a pleasure to ride Grands Crus. Lavishing praise on the seven-year-old, he said that Grands Crus is an exciting horse, who holds the potential to produce good results consistently.
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