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PAGES OF FANTASTIC Trainer King swears by his stable star GREYHOUNDS START WITH HORSE RACING
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TRAINER Alan King confessed his New Year’s resolution is to stop swearing and he had no need for expletives after Yanworth bounced back to his best at Cheltenham.
Sent off the 15-8 joint-favourite, he turned the tables on Willoughby Court, who had beaten him at Newbury, in impressive style thanks to a much improved round of jumping.
“He’s going to be the death of me!” said King who was recording his 1,550th winner.
“His jumping was good. Barry (Geraghty the winning rider) was impressed.
“Full credit to Wayne (Hutchinson) and Yogi Breisner, who have done a lot of work with him.
“They’ve had two good sessions to get him to shorten his stride into his fences and that was very evident as he was very good at it.
“He’s gone and winged the last and I thought he was going to go and win by two or three lengths and then he’s suddenly pricked his ears. Luckily, when the other horse came to him he went again.
“It’s not straightforward but he was much better. That was a big step in the right direction.”
Yanworth was cut to 8-1 from 12-1 by Betfair and Paddy Power for the RSA Chase and is 9-1 with the former for the JLT Novices’ Chase.
King added: “I think he will have entries in the JLT and the RSA at Cheltenham in March, but he wants another run.
“I would imagine we will look at something like the Reynoldstown (Ascot, February 17) and there is the Scilly Isles (Sandown, February 3).”
Unlike Yanworth, Willoughby Court’s jumping let him down.
A howling error at the fourthlast fence was the final blow.
Ben Pauling, his trainer, said:
“Nothing will change and he’ll go straight to the JLT. I didn’t feel he was ever quite as fluent as he had been at Newbury.”
Local trainer Nigel Twiston started the New Year with a double.
Ballyhill set the ball rolling when taking the BetBright Handicap Chase in the hands of Jamie Bargary.
“It was a long way out when he fell at Aintree last time, but we thought he was going well there and that’s proved that he was,” said Twiston-Davies.
“We will look at a race here on Trials Day and then we will work out what we go for at the Festival after that.”
The double was completed when Wholestone bounced back to form in the Relkeel Hurdle under a confident ride from Daryl Jacob.
Rich Ricci, the owner of Faugheen who was pulled up at Leopardstown on Friday, believes he can regain his crown in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March. “Barring anything popping up of a more serious nature this week I think we’ll crack on,” said Ricci about his 2015 Champion Hurdle winner.
“Whether he goes to the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown in the first week of February, or whether he’ll go straight to Cheltenham, I don’t know, but our intention at the moment is to crack on.
“He was fine after the race. We’ve gotten him home. He’s normal. Everything’s fine.”