Coneygree's connections may prefer to stay at home for the King George VI Chase this Christmas but Leopardstown's authorities aren't yet giving up on wooing the Gold Cup holder across the Irish Sea for the €150,000 Lexus Chase instead.
An entry mix-up means Coneygree will have to be supplemented for almost €15,000 if he is to line up against Don Cossack and Vautour at Kempton on St Stephen's Day and officials at Leopardstown reckon the Dublin track could also suit the cross-channel star more.
“It’s a left-handed course, not dissimilar to Cheltenham with challenging fences, and a three-furlong uphill finish,” said Leopardstown’s chief-executive Pat Keogh. “He’s a very special horse, winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup as a novice, a very exciting horse the way he jumps, and it would be great for Irish fans to see him here.”
Coneygree's trainer Mark Bradstock has acknowledged the efforts made by Leopardstown to lure Britain's top steeplechaser to tackle some of Ireland's other top Gold Cup hopes on their home ground on Monday week and isn't ruling the Lexus out after an impressive schooling session on Tuesday.
“We don’t have to make a decision until Monday next and I’m not going to rush it. He’ll work probably tomorrow or Thursday and we’ll see how he comes out of that with evening stables and things. That’s important,” Bradstock reported.
King George raid
Ireland’s two top-rated chasers, Don Cossack and Vautour, will attempt to mount a first successful King George raid in a decade since Kicking King recorded back-to-back wins in 2005 but a superb recent Lexus record by British raiders could yet emerge as a holiday pointer for Coneygree.
Cross-channel trained horses have won the Lexus seven times in the past decade including in 2013 with the then reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Bobs Worth. Synchronised also won it in 2011 prior to landing the “blue-riband” less than three months later, a route Denman also took in 2007.
Best Mate famously crossed the Irish Sea in 2003 to land the Day 3 Christmas festival feature and was runner-up to Beef Or Salmon a year later.
“We would love to have Coneygree here. The Bradstocks are a very interesting couple, there’s the Lord Oaksey connection which people remember, and in fairness to the Bradstocks they are very aware there is a lot of public interest in their horse here,” Keogh said.
“What we find with owners and trainers coming to race in Ireland for the first time is that they are very impressed by the passion people have here for a good horse.”
