Cotswold Chase next on the Smad agenda

TRAIneR Alan king will race his runaway hennessy Gold Cup winner Smad Place only once more this season before the grey tackles the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.

king will use the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham on January 30 as the Festival stepping stone for Saturday’s 12-length winner.

In other hennessy fall- out, nicky henderson is considering sending sixth-placed Bobs Worth down the hurdles route, with the World hurdle becoming his Festival target, while Paul nicholls believes his gut feeling that this season’s Gold Cup may come a year too early for six-year- old Saphir du Rheu was confirmed by his fifthplaced finish at newbury.

king (right) said: ‘I imagine the Cotswold Chase is where we’ll go with Smad Place. The king George will come a bit quick. he has come out of the race bouncing and he was not breathing hard afterwards.’

Smad Place, 10-1 for the Gold Cup, has been placed three times at the Festival — once in the RSA Chase and twice in the World hurdle. But king says he did not become frustrated by the nearly-horse tag Smad Place has now shed.

king added: ‘There was nothing we could have done differently. he did everything right bar win.’ Meanwhile, henderson reasons that a change of tack might be attractive with 2013 Gold Cup winner Bobs Worth, especially after the 10-yearold won his hennessy prep race over hurdles at Aintree.

henderson said: ‘he loved it over hurdles and we know he is not going to win another Gold Cup. There’s no point chasing something unrealistic. But the World hurdle might be realistic.’

Victoria Pendleton pulled up Minella Theatre before the penultimate fence on her competitive debut over fences at Black Forest Lodge point-to-point near exeter.