SIZING JOHN’S MUCH anticipated return to action will not come this weekend after connections decided today not to run the 2017 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner at Leopardstown.
There had been a chance the nine-year-old would have his first start since December 2017 at the second running of the Dublin Racing Festival, but Jessica Harrington revealed the wait would go on until underfoot conditions are considered suitable.
She said: “I don’t think there’s going to be enough rain and if I leave him in I’d only be tempted to run. I must be sensible because, at the end of the day, we’d only do more damage.”
Harrington added: “We’ll just play it by ear until we get enough rain for him. If the ground at Leopardstown had been like it was at Gowran last week, that’d have been grand.”
Sizing John enjoyed a memorable spell in 2017, winning the Irish Gold Cup that February at Leopardstown, the main prize at Cheltenham in March and then taking home the Punchestown Gold Cup in April.
The Gold Cup is the feature race next Sunday at the Dublin Racing Festival in Leopardstown with 13 horses still entered.
Willie Mullins has four runners in contention in Kemboy – the Savills Chase winner at Christmas – Al Boum Photo, Bellshill and Total Recall. Noel Meade’s Road To Respect and Henry De Bromhead’s Monalee are others of interest with four horses from Gordon Elliott’s yard currently in the frame.
- For more visit the Racing Post
Join us to preview the Six Nations with Simon Zebo, Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey on Thursday @7pm in Liberty Hall Theatre Dublin.
