Trainer wants Captain Chris to go straight for Gold Cup – Horseracing Update
Captain Chris’s trainer, Philip Hobbs, wants his gelding to go to Cheltenham for next month’s high-profile Betfred Gold Cup Chase straight and perform well to notch up the ace title.
Before the Grade 1 race of March 16, the eight-year-old star runner has an option to participate in Ryanair Chase but his trainer is not ready to let him do it, considering the Cheltenham Festival as the major challenge.
Captain Chris is lined-up among total 34 golden names who are going to show their guts in the Gold Cup. Almost all of his competitors possess immense talent and skills. Thus, the contest is expected to be filled with challenges.
Hobbs is quite confident of his trainee’s racing techniques, anticipating a big run from him. He claims that the gelding should not participate in any contest prior to the mega Cup for which, he is 33-1 favourite with Long Run at the top of the betting list.
While speaking to the media yesterday, he said, “It is very likely he will go for the Gold Cup, possibly the Ryanair. We have considered all options, including going to Punchestown, but there is no two and a half mile race, just two miles or three miles."
“Overall at Cheltenham he has had four runs, two wins, a second and a disaster last time. Although he has an inclination to go right it is not necessarily going to stop him winning. We want to give him a bit more time so he is not going to run before Cheltenham,”
stated the champion trainer.
Captain Chris demonstrated outstanding performances during the last year, winning three big races in a row. However, he seems to be a bit off-coloured since the dawn of 2012.
In his last clash at January 28, the Mrs Diana L Whateley-owned gelding pulled out badly. After this failed venture, some of the racing experts even started churning out speculations about his Gold Cup performance.
As a whole, the dashing runner has won 6 out of his total 14 starts so far. His triumphs include 3 Hurdle and Chase each. The total earning of the gelding to date is £149,865.
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