Pipe watching the weather for King Turgeon and Aintree

King Turgeon is not certain to return to Aintree for Saturday’s William Hill Half A Mill Becher Handicap Chase.

David Pipe’s seven-year-old won the Grand Sefton over the Grand National fences last season and finished sixth when defending his crown on what was his seasonal reappearance four weeks ago.

He has the option of heading back to Merseyside for this weekend’s three-and-a-quarter-mile feature – which carries a £500,000 bonus from William Hill if the winner can follow up in the Grand National in April – but could wait a week and instead bid for back-to-back wins in another valuable event at Cheltenham.

“I’m not sure if he’s going to run on Saturday or not, he’ll either go there or he’ll go to Cheltenham a week later,” Pipe explained.

“We’ll see how much rain they get – if it gets much softer, we might wait for Cheltenham.

“He ran well in what was a more competitive Grand Sefton this year, I think it was a quicker time, but he kept galloping and he’ll definitely appreciate a step up in trip.”

King Turgeon is a best-priced 14-1 for the Becher with William Hill, who make Sara Bradstock’s Mr Vango their 11-2 favourite.