Joe’s Bazooka
Ruth Jefferson is right to swerve this season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup with Waiting Patiently.
The classy gelding has always shaped like a stayer but he was unable to prove his stamina when brought down in the King George at Kempton.
The flat, fast three miles at Sunbury is one thing but the gruelling Prestbury showpiece is no place to put the theory to the test. There’ll be plenty of other years for the uunexposed eight-year-old and the Ryanair looks an ideal target at this stage of the game.
We know that the gelding excels over 2m 4f although the possible good ground and undulating track could still throw a spanner in the works.
At least the Yorkshire handler immediately let ante-post punters know exactly how things stand rather than wait till the week before the four-day jamboree kicks off.