INDO IS BACK ON TRACK
De Bromhead confident Gold Cup hero can rediscover form
DAVID YATES
HENRY DE BROMHEAD has Minella Indo “in great form” as the Cheltenham Gold Cup hero bids to get his career back on track at Leopardstown on Saturday.
The son of Beat Hollow has met with defeat on both starts since his defeat of stablemate A Plus Tard at Cheltenham last March – including when pulled up in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.
But the Co Waterford handler is confident Minella Indo can show his true colours when he locks horns with defending champion Kemboy and three-time Grade 1 victor Frodon in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup.
“There was nothing obvious from Kempton and we’re really happy with him,” said de Bromhead (right), whose nineyear-old is a bestpriced 100-30 for the three-mile test.
“He seems in great form.
“I did say when he came back that he lost a good bit of weight – that wouldn’t normally have happened with him before – but that was the only real thing that we can see.” DUSART took his tally over fences to two from two with an 11-length victory in the Virgin Bet Novices’ Chase at Exeter. Nicky Henderson, whose lightly raced seven-year-old is as short as 12-1 for the two-and-a-halfmile Turners Novices’ Chase – and 14-1 for the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase over three miles – said: “He is still so green but he jumped very well, he stays well and he gallops well.”