Argento offers way back to Bolster

A fine third on his return to action in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, the eight-year-old was considered a major challenger for the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day before pulling up under 17-times champion jockey AP McCoy.

Ironically it was a vintage McCoy ride aboard the ill-fated Synchronised that saw The Giant Bolster denied a place in Gold Cup folklore; Bridgwater’s charge, with regular rider Tom Scudamore on board, actually led over the last at Cheltenham.

Scudamore only missed the ride at Kempton because he was contractually committed to ride David Pipe’s Grands Crus, who finished a creditable third after a wind operation.

However, Bridgwater reports his pride and joy to be none the worse and the trainer is keen to put a line through his below-par performance.

He said: “He’s grand, there’s not a bother on him. It was just one of those days at Kempton, they all do it (have an off day) and a number of things went wrong.

“The original plan was to go to the Peterborough Chase, but that was off and we ended up at Kempton and things didn’t work out. All is good now, I’m sure he’ll be fine and we’ll head back to Cheltenham for the Argento (January 26). I think everyone would like a bit better ground than what we have at the moment.”

The Giant Bolster is widely available at 25-1 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March and McCoy could be back on board Bridgwater’s horse if Grands Crus takes his place in the line-up.

Another horse likely to use the Argento to test his Gold Cup credentials is Wayward Prince.

The nine-year-old was taken away from Ian Williams at the end of last season and is now handled by owner Hilary Parrott, a permit holder from Gloucester.

After an encouraging second behind Silviniaco Conti in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on his return to action, Wayward Prince registered his first win in the best part of two years in a Listed event at Aintree a month ago.

He is now set to return to Cheltenham for the first time since finishing a close third in the 2011 RSA Chase. Parrott said: “He’s absolutely fine. We decided after he won at Aintree we’d wait for the Argento. It’s a Gold Cup trial and hopefully if he runs well, he will go for the Gold Cup. I think it was one of his best performances and one of the best rounds of jumping he has every produced. Jack (Doyle, jockey) gave him a peach of a ride.”

Captain Conan and Unioniste feature among seven high-class entries for the rescheduled Dipper Novices’ Chase at Sandown tomorrow.

Saved from the abandoned New Year’s Day fixture at Cheltenham, the Grade Two contest could prove informative.

Nicky Henderson’s Captain Conan is unbeaten in two starts over fences and won the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at the track a month ago.

The five-year-old Unioniste, trained by Paul Nicholls, brings top handicap form to the table having won off a light weight in the Paul Stewart IronSpine Charity Challenge Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

The Horsemen’s Group has vowed to maintain its campaign for enhanced prize money, despite the overall total for 2012 rising by £3.9m to £97.8m.

Chairman Philip Freedman, said: “While it is pleasing that the decline in prize-money has been halted, there is still a very long way to go just to get us back to 2009 levels when there were over 1,100 more horses in training.

“Looking forward to 2013, there is some cause for optimism with the Levy Board’s contribution to prize-money to increase by a further £10m. Whether total prize-money will increase beyond where we were four years ago, however, will depend on racecourses’ prize-money budgets.

“With the exception of the Jockey Club, who has announced an increase in its own contribution to prize-money of £1.8m, we still have no idea of what other racecourses plan to do over the coming 12 months.”