Gold run next for King John

SIZING JOHN will not run before his title defence in the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The Jessica Harrington-trained eight-year-old recommenced cantering this week after his flop at odds-on in the Leopardstown Christmas Chase.

But Harrington has elected to bypass the Irish Gold Cup – the race Sizing John won in 2017 – at Leopardstown on February 4.

“He’s going to go straight to the Gold Cup,” said Harrington, whose stable star is 8-1 for back-to-back triumphs in jump racing’s blue ribbon event on March 16.

She added: “I’d rather go there fresh and well.

“He’s in good form, he looks good and he’s been back cantering this week.”

Sizing John, the easy winner of the John Durkan at Punchestown in December on his reappearance, underwent tests after trailing home seventh when 9-10 favourite at Leopardstown 16 days later.

But Harrington said: “Nothing came to light that you could hang your hat on.

“I just think the race came too soon.

“It didn’t look like he had a hard race, but these things can be deceptive — both him and Djakadam ran flat at Leopardstown last time.”

Minella Rocco, who chased home Sizing John at Cheltenham last March, was among 38 Gold Cup entries published yesterday, and his trainer Jonjo O’neill said: “He’s in grand old form.

“He will be in the Irish Gold Cup or the Denman Chase at Newbury [on February 10] — those are the two races for him.”