King holds key to Miguel plans

Andy Stewart will wait to see what Kicking King’s Cheltenham Festival target is before deciding on running plans for Le Roi Miguel.

The owner is very keen to run his horse in the inaugural Daily Telegraph Festival Trophy, but only if Kicking King’s connections opt instead to run in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Le Roi Miguel has already tasted defeat at the hands of Tom Taaffe’s rising star when fourth behind him in the King George VI Chase and would wait for Aintree to avoid another clash.

“He’s fine and has been flying up the gallops. All being well, we will go for the Daily Telegraph Chase, but we won’t run if Kicking King runs,” he said.

“If he does, then we will go to Aintree for the two-and-a-half-mile chase that Native Upmanship always used to win.

“It looks to me like Tom Taaffe and his owners are looking at the Gold Cup with him. That’s what I would do if I were them, as you never know if you will get another chance to win a Gold Cup.”

Le Roi Miguel, trained by Paul Nicholls, was an impressive winner of the Peterborough Chase on his previous start before the King George and is around a 12-1 shot for the Daily Telegraph Trophy.

Stewart also had an update on another of his horses, My Will, who is now set to head for the Irish Independent Arkle Trophy without another run.

The five-year-old, who has won his last two races, had been entered for this weekend’s rescheduled Kingmaker Novices’ Chase but his owner felt that a hard race might leave its mark this close to the Arkle, for which he is a general 14-1 shot.

“We were going to run him when the race was scheduled for Warwick a week ago and he was only kept in at Wincanton as a precaution,” said Stewart.

“But the race was another week closer to the Arkle, and that is a much more important race to win.

“He’ll go straight for Cheltenham now. Paul’s big hope had been Kauto Star, who was sadly injured, but now the race looks pretty open, what with Ulaan Baatar being beaten last week.”