Murphy’s Cardinal gets Wetherby chance
The eight-year-old suffered his first defeat in seven starts at Sandown last time when he was beaten into fourth by Colonel Frank in an intermediate chase.
Murphy’s Cardinal had two other really decent types in front of him, with Calling Brave and Lord Sam finishing second and third respectively.
Chance was far from disappointed with that run and he feels his charge should have learnt from the experience.
“He’s in great shape for Sunday and we are hoping for a good run,” said the trainer.
“He was only just beaten by a couple of good horses at Sandown last time so we couldn’t be too disappointed with that. I think people just maybe expect a bit too much.
“That was only his third run over fences and he got caught out a bit as he was less experienced than the others.
“The only way he can get better is by gaining experience and that is why he is running on Sunday.”
Murphy’s Cardinal will not have an easy task on his hands as Howard Johnson’s rising star Lord Transcend is likely to go off favourite.
The seven-year-old made a satisfactory return from injury when finishing fourth in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup - a run which was all the more impressive considering it was only his second start over fences.
Lord Transcend will be getting 10lb from Murphy’s Cardinal and with Paul Robson taking off a further 3lb, Chance knows his runner faces an uphill battle.
“It looks a tough race and Lord Transcend looks a good horse. He had a good comeback run and he gets quite a bit of weight from us, so it’s going to be a big ask,” he added.
“You’ve got the likes of Gunner Welburn in there too, but Lord Transcend would look to be the blot on the handicap. But the blots often tend to get soaked up.”
Truckers Tavern will have a new partner in the three-mile-one-furlong event, conditional rider Keith Mercer.
The nine-year-old’s regular partner Tony Dobbin is suspended on Sunday and trainer Ferdy Murphy had hoped to have Brian Harding on board.
However, he will be riding one of Murphy’s runners at Kempton, leaving Mercer with the task.
Truckers Tavern finished second in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2003 but has lost his way since then.
