Waiting Patiently to decide between Kempton and Sandown for comeback

A chipped fetlock sidelined Waiting Patiently in January, forcing him to miss the Betfair Ascot Chase – a race he won in 2018 and finished runner-up in last year. The nine-year-old’s last racecourse appearance was a third-placed effort in the Tingle Creek at Sandown last December, just a length behind winner Defi Du Seuil.

The Sandown showpiece is once again a possible target next month, but Jefferson is also considering an alternative path which begins with the King George at Kempton on Boxing Day. “He’s got a King George entry and a Tingle Creek entry, and we just have to figure something out with which one to go for,” said the Malton trainer.

“I know they are sort of extremes, being two miles and three miles. But we thought if we put him in, then we could have a look when we had a better idea, nearer the time.

“He’s fine at home. He’s working well and he’s happy, so fingers crossed he stays that way.”

Jefferson also issued an update on her promising mare Clondaw Caitlin, who finished third on her chasing debut at Cheltenham.

“I was pleased with her – I think she settled nicely, jumped nicely and seemed to stay the trip,” she said of the five-year-old, who was unbeaten over hurdles and claimed the Grade Two Premier Novices’ Hurdle at Kelso in February.

“She maybe needed the race a little bit, but there weren’t many negatives to take away from it.

“I’ve always thought on better ground she would need three miles, and on softer ground she could come back to two and a half.”

Evan Williams, meanwhile, hopes Silver Streak can secure a first Grade One victory in the Betfair Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on Saturday week.

The seven-year-old has been placed three times in five starts at the top table, including when finishing third in last year’s renewal of this two-mile prize.

Silver Streak made a triumphant return to action for the second season running last month, in the same Listed contest he had won at Kempton a year earlier. Llancarfan trainer Williams said: “Silver Streak will go to Newcastle for the Fighting Fifth – then we will try to go for the Christmas Hurdle.

“He has been second and third in Grade Ones and you just hope he can win a Grade One. I might be silly and I might be trying too hard to make him do something that is difficult to achieve.”