Oliver Sherwood hoping rain continues to pour for Many Clouds
Unbeaten in three starts this season and as short as 7-1 for the blue riband, Oliver Sherwood’s eight-year-old gelding was an impressive winner of the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury in November.
He proved that to be no fluke when beating the likes of Smad Place, Dynaste and The Giant Bolster in the BetBright Cup Chase, formerly known as the Argento, at Cheltenham in January.
Sherwood is hoping the ground remains on the easy side of good for his date with destiny.
Sherwood said: “He did his first piece of semi-serious work (on Tuesday morning) and I plan to pop him over a few fences on Thursday.
“His latest success at Cheltenham was impressive and I just hope the forecast remains bad in the next couple of weeks.”
Yesterday Puffin Billy restored some much-needed confidence with a measured success at Leicester – but Sherwood has ruled out a potential tilt at the JLT Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham next month.
The lightly-raced seven-year-old has endured a somewhat stop-start season and disappointed when he was pulled up in the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Ffos Las last month.
However, connections found him a real opening reverting to fences at the Midlands track and he was back to something like the form which saw him win at Ascot in November.
The 4-9 favourite was made to work hard by Tinker Time in the three-runner Rutland Water Novices’ Chase but was three lengths to the good at the line in the hands of Leighton Aspell.
Sherwood said: “That was perfect. Job done, and just what the doctor ordered.
“He won’t run at Cheltenham and it will be a case of finding a few more races like this.
“Perhaps the Future Champions at Ayr will be on the agenda as that’s a nice pot to win.
“I don’t think Aintree would be his track and I definitely wouldn’t run him on fast ground. That will have done his confidence the world of good.”
Meanwhile, God’s Own will not take up his entry at Doncaster on Friday and as long as the ground is suitable, he will head straight Cheltenham.
However, it is yet to be decided by trainer Tom George and the owners whether he will tackle the Racing Post Arkle or the JLT Novices’ Chase.
The seven-year-old won at the Punchestown Festival last May, but the timing of that meeting meant he still qualified as a novice for this season.
He beat Cue Card and Balder Succes in the Haldon Gold Cup but has been bogged down by soft ground the last twice in the Tingle Creek and the Wayward Lad at Kempton.
Rain scuppered plans to run in the Pendil Novices’ Chase at Kempton last Saturday and George had debated sending him to Town Moor this week.
“He’s not going to run,” he said.
“Basically, if he wins another race he’ll no longer be eligible for the graduation chases and they are worth £25,000, but the Doncaster race is only worth £6,000 so it doesn’t seem worth it.
“He’ll go straight to Cheltenham now, as long as the ground isn’t soft. If it is, we’ll wait for Aintree.
“It will be the Arkle or the JLT but we don’t have to decide for a while.
“I’ve never had him better which is why I wanted to run last week, but he just can’t act on soft ground.
“So we’ll wait for Cheltenham, if the ground is soft there’s Aintree and even Punchestown, having won there last year.”
