Talking Horses: Midnight Shadow can make fitness count at Cheltenham

Midnight Shadow. Photo: Healy Racing.

Midnight Shadow can make race fitness count in a typically competitive renewal of the Paddy Power Gold Cup, the feature race on day two of Cheltenham’s November meeting.

The Sue Smith-trained gelding made his seasonal reappearance in the Old Roan Chase at Aintree last month, finishing a close third to Allmankind, and the hope is he will improve for that encouraging effort. If that proves the case, he should go close as he has decent Cheltenham form, cashing in on a Champ fall to win the Grade Two Dipper Novices’ Chase on New Year’s Day 2020 before ending last year by finishing a distant second to handicap blot Chatham Street Lad in the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup.