Options open for Alderwood
The eight-year-old gave Tom Mullins his first Cheltenham Festival winner but the Co Kilkenny trainer is not happy with the handicapper’s view of the race.
“The English handicapper has given him 10lb for a three-parts of a length win, which was a bit severe I thought,” said Mullins.
“If he doesn’t go to Aintree, he won’t be going back to England this season.
“He’ll probably have an entry or two in the novice races there, but I haven’t talked about it with JP (McManus, owner) or Frank (Berry, racing manager) yet.
“Handicaps are probably out now, but we will see if we can fit him in at Aintree. He seems to have taken Cheltenham very well, so I wouldn’t rule it out.
“Obviously, Simonsig would be very hard to beat in the two-and-a-half-mile race. He was very impressive in the Neptune at Cheltenham.
“We’ll give him an entry but we’ll see. We may hang on for a race at Fairyhouse or Punchestown.
“We gave him a good break after Listowel in September, so he was a fresh horse going to Cheltenham. He had a couple of months off and just had the one run at Leopardstown before Cheltenham.
“We were always going to look at the Spring Festivals. We’ll just see how he is in the next couple of weeks. We’ll get our heads around it and do the right thing.”
Meanwhile, Martin Keighley believes it is not beyond the realms of possibility Champion Court could develop into a Cheltenham Gold Cup contender one day following his excellent run in defeat at the Festival last week.
The seven-year-old found only Irish raider Sir Des Champs too strong in the two-and-a-half-mile Jewson Novices’ Chase, with some smart rivals well beaten off.
Keighley has yet to decide whether his charge will have another outing before the end of the campaign, but either way, he is excited about next season and beyond, with a step up to three miles being considered.
“He ran a blinder and we were all delighted with him. I thought we had it for a minute but the winner is obviously a very good horse,” said Keighley.
“We’ll see how our horse comes out of it. I wouldn’t be bothered about kicking him out in the field, but if he seems fresh and well, he could have one more run at either Aintree or Punchestown.
“We’re all looking forward to next season. I think he definitely stays three miles and something like the King George at Kempton would be a possible target for him.
“You’d imagine we’ll probably be looking at the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham next year, but he might be a Gold Cup horse one day.”
