Stars pull up well
Mark Bradstock's Coneygree had been returning from a long absence but has recovered well from the race this morning
CONEYGREE was reassuringly given a clean bill of health the morning after his terrific comeback run at Haydock.
The 2015 Gold Cup winner, trained by Mark Bradstock, had been sidelined for 377 days but produced an uplifting display to finish second behind Cue Card in the Betfair Chase.
Assistant trainer Sara Bradstock told At The Races: "He's actually fine. In fact, he's surprisingly fresh as a daisy.
"He's recovered much quicker than I thought he would.
"He got tired in that ground, but he was beaten before that because he was a little bit ring-rusty - that (the heavy ground) was probably a little bit deep for him to get into top gear.
"After a significant injury, all you want to see is that the horse can still do it and that he still has the engine.
"He answered both of those questions."
Coneygree is now likely to run in the 32Red King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, but a potential trip to Ireland for the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown remains a viable alternative.
Bradstock added: "We're thinking King George, but we'll see how it goes.
"A very nice man from Leopardstown is always trying to get us to the Lexus, so that's a possibility.
"If we think he needs a little bit of a confidence boost and it looks easier in Ireland, we might go there."
Colin Tizzard also revealed Cue Card had come out of the race well following his impressive win.
"He's absolutely fine," said Tizzard.
"I've watched it (the Betfair Chase) back a couple of times, and it was never really in any doubt.
"It's amazing how he handles that ground now. Three years ago we might not have even run him on it.
"We always thought he wanted nice ground but he won his first Betfair on very soft ground and he's loved it ever since.
"It's strange. He just seems to float on it because he's not a horse with a knee action at all.
"Paddy (Brennan) was very good on him and said he was never even thinking he would not win.
"The races pick themselves for him. Even without the bonus we knew where he'd be going at the start of the season."
Come March, Tizzard could be in the strange situation of saddling the Gold Cup favourite Thistlecrack, while gunning for the bonus with Cue Card in the same race.
Asked what it would feel like to potentially have the first two in the betting for the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup, Tizzard said: "It would be lovely."
Brennan was at a loss to explain Cue Card's Wetherby loss, but believes his companion is a "very hard horse to beat" on soft ground.
He told his 32Red blog: "I just couldn't get my head around his Wetherby defeat.
"All things considered, I thought he could do everything wrong that day, and still win the race, so the loss was a real head-scratcher.
"But when the ground is on the easy side of good, and softer, then Cue Card is a hard horse to beat - very hard.
"I wear my heart on my sleeve, and this was a massive day for me.
"I have won a Gold Cup and big races before but I was hoping and praying that Cue Card could deliver what he was capable of, and give us all something to look forward to for the rest of the reason.
"And he didn't disappoint, did he?"
