Good ground key

TRAINER Nick Gifford could run Didtheyleaveuoutto in t he Bet fa i r Hu rd le at Newbury if conditions are in his favour.

After suffering his first defeat over hurdles at Kempton on Boxing Day, the JP McManus-owned six-year-old could now seek redemption in the valuable Grade Three contest on February 9, for which he is a general 12-1 chance.

Gifford said: “He has got the entry in the Betfair because of how the ground has been at the moment.

“If he was only just beaten at Kempton last time I would be much more bullish but he was beaten after the second-last and that is a bit of a concern.

“He wants good ground and the ground was soft at Kempton. He just ran a bit flat. They are not machines, though.

“I’m sure JP will have other entries in the race but, if it came good or on the quicker side of good to soft, I would be tempted to run him. Where else do I go?”

TOM George is happy to put a line through The Big Bite’s disappointing Christmas effort at Kempton.

Winner of his first two starts over timber, he finished seven lengths behind Nicky Henderson’s Mister Fisher when conceding 8lb.

“The only reason we ran him at Kempton was we were looking for slightly better ground.

“The other option was the Tolworth, where the ground wouldn’t have suited him either,” George commented.

“We’ve wanted to give him a break and that is what he is having at the moment. So the timing was right but it just didn’t fall his way.

“I’d say he will be heading to Cheltenham in the spring but for what I don’t know yet.

“I think you could put a line through that performance at Kempton.

“If he were to run against them again, there is no reason he couldn’t beat them.”