Smad Place owners 'not keen' on Newbury run for Old Roan Chase winner
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
Alan King will consider letting Smad Place bid for a second victory in the Ladbrokes Trophy following his heartwarming success in the Old Roan Chase at Aintree.
The 10-year-old claimed his first victory since January of last year when seeing off fellow grey Cloudy Dream in a stirring finish to Sunday's Grade Two feature on Merseyside.
He won the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury - formerly the Hennessy Gold Cup - in 2015 and could bid to regain his crown on December 2.
King, who watched the race from home, said: "It was absolutely marvellous and very emotional.
"We decided to go to Aintree rather than the Charlie Hall this weekend. Wayne (Hutchinson) is banned on Saturday, so that was certainly part of the equation, and also the forecast is looking fairly dry and the ground at Wetherby can get quite quick.
"We haven't made any definite plans for him. We'll take a look at the Ladbrokes Trophy. The owners aren't that keen, but we're leaving the option open.
"Beyond that I haven't really thought about it, but he showed two and a half (miles) isn't really a problem for him, so you could look at races like the Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon and those two-and-a-half-mile races at Ascot.
"If the ground came up testing over two and a half, he wouldn't be out of it."
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