Waiting Patiently will go straight to Aintree now
WAITING Patiently is set to sidestep the Cheltenham Festival and instead be aimed at April’s Grand National meeting at Aintree.
Ruth Jefferson’s stable star made a hugely encouraging return from over a year off the track when he was runner-up to Frodon in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
The talented ten-year-old was subsequently dropped in trip from three miles to two miles and one furlong for the Clarence House Chase at Ascot where, after being supplemented, he finished third to First Flow and Politologue.
Having already been taken out of the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Festival at Prestbury Park, Waiting Patiently retained the option of running in either the Ryanair
Chase or the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but has now been scratched from those races, too.
Jefferson said: “I took him out of the Queen Mother ages ago and I’ve now taken him out of the Ryanair and the Gold Cup.
“Thinking about it, we just felt that the King George wasn’t the fastest run three-mile race in the world, so maybe the Gold Cup wasn’t the right option.
“And after his last race, he was going to need a little bit of veterinary attention, so we thought we’d leave him for Aintree.
“He’s not had an issue as such, but the longer between his Ascot run and his next run the better.”
Reflecting on Waiting Patiently’s latest performance, North Yorkshirebased Jefferson added: “I just thought he was flat out all the way, to be honest.
“He came into the race and just stayed on at the same pace.”
This week’s freezing weather continues to take a heavy toll on the National Hunt fixture list, with yesterday’s meetings at Taunton and Market Rasen joining Monday’s cards at Plumpton and Carlisle in being called off. A ‘Jumpers Bumpers’ card went ahead on the allweather at Kempton yesterday, but today’s fixtures at Fontwell and Ludlow have been frozen off, while tomorrow’s meetings at Doncaster and Huntingdon have also been abandoned. Ffos Las is still scheduled for tomorrow.