FLINTHAM’S FESTIVAL SLOT

CONEYGREE, the injured 2015 Gold Cup winner, will be absent from the Cheltenham Festival next month but half-brother Flintham has booked his place after finishing second in the Reynoldstown Novices’ Chase at Ascot on Saturday.

Sara Bradstock, who trains the eight-year-old with husband Mark, said Flintham will target the four-mile National Hunt Chase unless the ground turns too fast.

Saturday’s defeat by Bigbadjohn was a cruel outcome for Flint ham after Ni code Boinville’s mount had sought to make all the running.

The run was a significant improvement on Flintham’s two previous novice chase runs — when he pulled up behind Gold Cup contender Native River at Exeter in November 2015 and was beaten by 27 lengths in a Chepstow handicap last month.

Bradstock said: ‘He was just mugged on the line. I don’t think he or Nico heard the other horse coming.

‘He is tougher than any of his family because he started out as an orphan. The National Hunt Chase is very much an option but the ground would have to be on the soft side.’

Bradstock added that plans to bring Coneygree back for the Punchestown Festival in April remain on course.

Meanwhile, Identity Thief, one of the few threats to oddson favourite Altior in the Arkle Novices’ Chase, i s almost certainly out of the meeting.

The Henry de Bromheadt r ained gelding missed a pl a nned race a t Navan yesterday after pulling off a shoe going lame.

Identity Thief is owned by Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, who plans to run Don Poli and Outlander in the Cheltenham Gold Cup after he reiterated his displeasure at the weights allotted to some of his horses in the Grand National.

He said: ‘I’d love to win it and have spent ten years trying.’