Cheltenham Festival prep run not required for Waiting Patiently

Waiting Patiently could head straight to the Cheltenham Festival following his recent success at Haydock.Formerly trained by the soon-to-retire Keith Reveley, the six-year-old has won each of his three starts over fences since joining Malcolm Jefferson and completed a hat-trick on Merseyside in a Grade Two novice chase.Waiting Patiently holds entries in the Arkle Trophy and the JLT Novices' Chase at the Festival in March, but connections are hoping for ease in the ground. Ruth Jefferson, assistant to her father, said: " He's come out of Haydock well and has entries in the Arkle and the JLT. "We're still over six weeks away, so I don't think there's any point committing at this stage. He could end up in neither."We'll see what the ground is like. It's been fairly dry up until now and I think the weather sometimes evens itself out."Who knows, we could end up with a wet Cheltenham this year."If he is going to go to Cheltenham, I think he'll go straight there."