Waiting Patiently ruled out of Champion Chase reckoning
Ruth Jefferson planning campaign over longer trips following Ascot third.
Ruth Jefferson has scratched Waiting Patiently from the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase following his defeat at Ascot on Saturday. It was obvious to the North Yorkshire trainer that two miles is too short a trip for the 10-year-old as he stayed on well to take third place behind First Flow in the Clarence House Chase. Waiting Patiently had finished second in the King George VI Chase over three miles on his previous start and he will now be campaigned over longer distances. He still holds entries in the Ryanair Chase over an extended two and a half miles and the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup over three and a quarter miles at the Cheltenham Festival. Jefferson will look at those two races as well as at Aintree in April, with a decision to be made nearer the time. “After yesterday it seems a bit obvious we’re not going to run him over two miles again, so we’ve taken him out of the Champion Chase before I forgot to scratch him. I took him out so I wouldn’t accidentally leave him in the race in three weeks’ time,” she said.“We’ll play things by ear. We’ll keep an eye on him for the next two or three weeks. “He’ll either go to Cheltenham or Aintree, all being well. We’ll look further ahead now. He’s had two runs in a month. That will do for now.”
Follow us on Twitter racing365dotcom and like our Facebook page.
Latest
-
Philosophical Varian grateful for opportunity amid King Of Steel speculation
‘We’ve been on a hell of a ride the last 12 months’.
-
Harrington delighted as Birdman takes flight at Navan
Queen’s Vase on the horizon for promising gelding.
-
Big Rock team will regroup after Lockinge conditions go against QEII winner
‘Today we are just unlucky with the weather and he has had 200 days off’.
-
Audience leaves Lockinge onlookers in disbelief
Inspiral’s stablemate makes all for 22-1 shock in Newbury showpiece.
-
Middle Earth makes most of Aston Park opportunity
But Desert Hero disappoints in Newbury Group Three.
-
Lead Artist takes starring role at York
St James’s Palace Stakes bid on the cards for Gosden-trained colt.