Goshen and Gary Moore have sights on Cheltenham Festival

The five-year-old accounted for Coral Hurdle and International Hurdle scorer Song For Someone by 22 lengths, as he blitzed the opposition at Wincanton on Saturday.

There is less than three weeks to the two-mile showpiece at the Cheltenham Festival, in which Goshen will bid to erase the frustration of his dramatic final-flight exit in the Triumph Hurdle last year when he had the race at his mercy under the trainer’s son Jamie.

“He’s come out of his race very well,” said Moore, whose Bealach won on the Southwell all-weather yesterday under former Classic-winning jockey Tom Queally.

“We’ll just do what we do and hopefully keep him on track for Cheltenham. I’ve done nothing with him. He’s just gone out for a jog around the place and nice easy exercise. He’s taking it all well and seems in good order. I’m very pleased with him.”

Stablemate Fifty Ball could well have booked his place at the Festival too, after beating all bar Jonjo O’Neill’s Soaring Glory in the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury on Sunday.

Moore has to decide which of his three entries – Sky Bet Supreme Novices’, Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and County Hurdle – Fifty Ball will take up.

“It would have been better if he’d have won, but he could not do any more than run the race of his life,” he said.

Meanwhile, Christian Williams is happy to forgive Potters Corner a poor run over hurdles and is keen to have a crack at Tiger Roll and Easysland in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase at Cheltenham.

In winning the Welsh National last season the 11-year-old sparked wild celebrations as a home winner of the great race – and he also had the unusual honour of ‘winning’ the Virtual Grand National when last year’s event was cancelled due to the pandemic.

This season has all been built around a trip to Aintree via Cheltenham in March, but after a good first run over the cross-country course in November, things have not gone quite according to plan.

He had to miss gaining further experience at Cheltenham in 
December and has run over 
hurdles the last twice – most recently at Exeter when he was pulled up.

“I’ve just put a line through it,” said Williams. “The ground was terrible.

“He’s gone on soft before but that was something else, it was a hurdle race and I’m happy to just forget about it.

“I can’t really be bullish given what happened at Exeter, but you can also pick holes in Tiger Roll and Easysland.”

However amateur riders will not be permitted to ride at Cheltenham.

Festival winners of the calibre of Jamie O’Connor, Derek O’Connor, Patrick Mullins and Sam Waley-Cohen hoped the ban, introduced in January because of a rise in Covid restrictions, would be relaxed in time.

Their hope now is that the siutation improves in time for Aintree’s Grand National meeting in April.

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