Moore still concerned at fitness of his star Sire

GARY Moore has conceded that Sire De Grugy is likely to be short of peak fitness when he makes his eagerly-awaited return in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury on February 7.

By The Newsroom

Published 22nd Jan 2015, 06:27 BST

The Queen Mother Champion Chase hero has not run since winning at Sandown in April last year, having his plans for this season disrupted by a setback.

Moore said: “He’s not as fit as I’d like at this stage.”

Asked if he was confident the nine-year-old was as good as ever, Moore said: “I couldn’t answer that question truthfully now, but I’d be very disappointed if he wasn’t and very surprised if he wasn’t.”

Another two-mile star, Sprinter Sacre, made his return from a long absence at Ascot over the weekend, finishing second to Dodging Bullets.

Assessing the performance, Moore said: “He didn’t fill me with any dread, obviously there’s issues going on with the horse but he looked extremely fit the other day and I don’t think he blew up, he was probably race-rusty. You can’t leave Dodging Bullets out of it (Champion Chase equation).”

Ascot