Cheltenham return on Coneygree radar

Coneygree could line up in the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham later this month if he can overcome the injury he suffered at Kempton.

The 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup was last seen unseating his rider in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day and picked up a minor issue during that race, the latest in a long line of afflictions to have hampered his career.

The 11-year-old missed the majority of last season through injury before returning at Cheltenham in November, performing well under top weight as he came home third in the BetVictor.com Handicap Chase.

Another outing at Prestbury Park on January 26 has been pencilled in for Coneygree but only if he can prove his fitness following his exertions at Kempton.

Sara Bradstock, the wife of trainer Mark, says there were happy with how Coneygree had performed in the King George and are hopeful of a swift recovery.

“Even in his prime, Kempton would have been a sharp track for him, so it was no surprise they sprinted past him, but as he showed in the Punchestown Gold Cup in 2017, he stays on,” she said.

“Sadly he?s got a very nasty overreach and he did it again getting very close to one, which made him not want to go. He just caught the heel of his foot, but it?s nothing significant, there?s no structural injury, he?s just a bit sore.

“The Cotswold Chase is a possibility if it doesn?t look too strong, or we?ll look for an open handicap, maybe over three and a half miles, but first he has to heal and get back to pinging his fences ? we just have to stop his long back legs catching up with the front ones.”