Racing: Brown hoping to see light in the pink

John Brown, chairman of bookmakers William Hill and co-owner of Shooting Light, believes his horse is a rightful market leader for the Thomas Pink Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday.

But he does not consider the eight-year-old, quoted as low as 9-4 with the Tote, to be a good thing for the £100,000 feature. Hills and Coral both go 11-4.

‘‘Shooting Light is a worthy favourite for the Thomas Pink Gold Cup, but no certainty,’’ said Brown.

Brown believes he has the right team behind his horse in trainer Martin Pipe and champion jockey Tony McCoy. ‘‘Martin gets horses fit and he has the greatest jockey. This horse needs a man to ride him, so he definitely needs Tony McCoy - that is for sure,’’ he commented.

‘‘Tony McCoy won on him last year at Ascot and made him win. In the past he has been a bit of careful jumper, running up to his fences and stuttering into them because he could not see a stride and landing not running.’’

Shooting Light leapt to the front of the market after an impressive victory in a handicap chase at Cheltenham last month.

The eight-year-old gelding scored by an easy 11 lengths after challenging two fences from home and skipping clear after the last.

‘‘At Cheltenham, over the first three or four, Shooting Light was a bit sticky and couldn’t see a stride. By the time they got to the fifth fence, Tony McCoy was telling him where the stride was and making him take off,’’ Brown went on.

‘‘At the end of the Cheltenham race, he was taking off where he ought to take off and landing running. That has to help Shooting’s Light’s confidence.’’

Shooting Light was bought by Brown and co-owner Michael Blackburn as a three-year and during his first jumping season he finished third in the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Brown added: ‘‘He’s nice horse. The last victory was unbelievable and our biggest-ever win so the Thomas Pink would definitely be the peak for me as an owner should he be successful.’’

There will be a big rise in the weights after the top five in the handicap - Fadalko, Legal Right, Bellator, Cenkos and Geos - were all withdrawn.

The new top weight is Young Spartacus, trained by Henry Daly, who will now have to carry 12 stone - a massive stone and 4lb more than originally allotted.

Shooting Light, now on 11st, is one of four entries by 11-times champion trainer Pipe, who this season has already smashed his own record for the fastest century of winners.

His others are last year’s runner-up Exit Swinger, Iris Bleu and Cadougold.

Thomas Pink Gold Cup:

William Hill betting: 11-4 Shooting Light, 7-1 Behrajan, 10-1 Arctic Copper, Foly Pleasant, 11-1 Scrahan Cross, 12-1 Eau De Cologne, Exit Swinger, 14-1 Robbo, 16-1 King’s Valley, Korakar, Young Spartacus, 20-1 bar.