Hunt primed for three-mile future

Connections of dual Grade One winner Schindlers Hunt are considering stepping their charge back up in trip – despite his victory in the Baileys Arkle Perpetual Challenge Cup on Sunday.

However, while the Dessie Hughes-trained seven-year-old holds an entry in the Royal & SunAlliance Chase at Cheltenham, his Co Kildare handler is far from sure he will take up that challenge.

“The SunAlliance is a tough race. It can be very hard on horses but we’ll see how things go,” he explained.

“I do think he’ll be better going a bit further than the two miles really.

“I think he could well be a two-and-a-half-mile horse so we’ll look for something for him and he will definitely make a three-miler in time – that’s our main objective with him.

“He’s fine this and we shall have a look at both the Ascot Chase (February 17) and the Powers Gold Cup (April 8) as he’s certainly well after the race.”