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Cheltenham Festival: Arzal to miss JLT with Aintree preferred option

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Aintree holding pic (2011)

Arzal will head to Aintree next month instead of contesting the JLT

  PICTURE: Getty  

 By Mark Scully 10:22AM 11 MAR 2016 

ARZAL will not line up in next week’s JLT Novices’ Chase after connections opted to target the six-year-old at the Grade 1 Manifesto Novices’ Chase at Aintree’s Grand National meeting next month.

Speaking to At The Races on Friday morning, trainer Harry Whittington confirmed the decision, with conditions at Aintree thought to be more in Arzal’s favour.

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“We’ve made the decision to not run him next week,” said Whittington, whose horse was as short as 20-1 for Cheltenham.

“We’ve been umming and ahhing about it but I have made it pretty public that Plan A was probably to miss Cheltenham.

“There is no doubt he is best suited by a flat, left-handed, galloping track. We feel the undulations of the track won’t suit his jumping, which can sometimes be a bit sticky when he’s in tight.”

Step up in trip

Arzal has been competing over two miles this season, most recently when finding on Vaniteux too good in the Grade 2 Lightning Novices’ Chase at Doncaser in January.

However, Whittington is keen to step the horse up in trip and said: “We’ve been running over 2m in the best novice chases and David Bass got off him at Doncaster and said two and a half miles around a track like Aintree would make him very hard to beat.

“He switches off in his races. He has the speed for two miles but he’ll have no problem staying.

“David felt [at Doncaster] that Vaniteux was just able to quicken past him but despite giving him 4lb, we were coming back at him at the end.

“With his front-running style, he should be able to put horses under a lot of pressure over two and a half miles.”

 

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