Waiting Patiently to skip Cheltenham Festival and be aimed at Aintree
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
Waiting Patiently will sidestep the Cheltenham Festival and instead be aimed at the Grand National meeting at Aintree.
Ruth Jefferson’s stable star made a hugely encouraging return from over a year off the track when runner-up to Frodon in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
The talented 10-year-old was subsequently dropped in trip from three miles to two miles and a furlong for the Clarence House Chase at Ascot, where after being supplemented he finished third to First Flow and Politologue.
Having already been taken out of the Queen Mother Champion Chase, Waiting Patiently retained the option of running in either the Ryanair Chase or the Cheltenham Gold Cup in the Cotswolds, but has now been scratched from those races, too.
Jefferson said: “I took him out of the Queen Mother ages ago and I’ve now taken him out of the Ryanair and the Gold Cup.
“Thinking about it, we felt the King George wasn’t the fastest run three-mile race in the world, so maybe the Gold Cup wasn’t the right option.
“And after his last race, he was going to need a little bit of veterinary attention, so we thought we’d leave him for Aintree.
“He’s not had an issue as such, but the longer between his Ascot run and his next run the better.”
Reflecting on Waiting Patiently’s latest performance, North Yorkshire-based Jefferson added: “I just thought he was flat out, to be honest. He came into the race and just stayed on at the same pace.”
Donald McCain could also skip Cheltenham in preference for Aintree with Musselburgh winners Fiveandtwenty and Bareback Jack.
The duo have both won three times since joining McCain and took their form to a new level at the weekend.
Juvenile hurdler Fiveandtwenty, with Mark Johnston on the Flat, won a Listed event by four lengths and Grade One company now beckons on Merseyside.
“It was a good weekend, very positive,” said McCain. “We were a little disappointed the last time she won, but to be fair to her, she’s now been up there three times and stayed overnight each time, the second time there wasn’t much of a gap.
“She’d had more time this time and was obviously the better for it. At the moment it’s all systems go for Aintree.”
Bareback Jack beat a quality opponent in Dan Skelton’s Third Time Lucki, who eventually faded into fourth after the two were locked in battle all the way up the straight in the Scottish Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
“I suppose people can say the favourite made a mistake at the last, but we weren’t clever at it and I think we had his measure going to it,” said McCain.
“He was a bit careful two out and he lacks a bit of racing experience.
“We’re really positive about him because he can only improve for better ground, I think, and by the end of two days at Musselburgh it was a bit of a mess.
“He’s a very neat jumper. He’s not got the physique of a chaser at the moment, but the way he jumps suggests to me he’ll be a two to two-and-a-half-mile chaser.
“Tim (Leslie, owner) and myself are big fans of Aintree. He’s in at Cheltenham, but this year I don’t think we’d be in a rush to take him there. Aintree should suit him, so there’s a strong possibility he might end up there.
“We might look to take him somewhere before then, but it’s not easy at the minute. The Premier Hurdle (at Kelso) is an option, but the ground is likely to be slow so we’ll see.”
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