Weight and lengthy lay-off make it tough for King (From The Northern Echo)

Weight and lengthy lay-off make it tough for King

10:51am Saturday 6th February 2010 in

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FERDY Murphy expects Kalahari King to need the outing when the Queen Mother Champion Chase hopeful has his first race for almost ten months at Doncaster today.

Even accounting for the lack of a recent run, last season’s Arkle runner-up and Maghull Novices’ Chase winner faces a stiff task under top weight in the Blue Square Handicap Chase.

‘‘We’re glad to get him back on the course. He will come on for the run, but I’m very happy with him. He’s been going really nicely at home,’’ said the West Witton trainer.

‘‘He’s got a lot of weight in a very competitive handicap, so we’re just hoping for the best.

‘‘The run should bring him on for Cheltenham and it should give us time to get him there, all being well. Hopefully the ground won’t be too bad.’’ Murphy also saddles Beggars Cap, who runs off bottom weight of 10st 4lb.

‘‘He’s in good form but, like Kalahari King, he wants good ground,’’ he added.

Doctor David trounced Kalahari King by 17 lengths at Haydock in December 2008 and strictly on that performance has the beating of the top weight on advantageous revised terms.

The grey also has an 11lb pull for a two-and-a-half length beating by I’msingingtheblues in this race 12 months ago, but his trainer Caroline Bailey is only hopeful of success.

‘‘Andrew (Thornton) came and schooled him yesterday and he schooled well,’’ she said.

‘‘We were pleased with his run over Christmas at Kempton, behind Petit Robin, and this is a very competitive handicap. If he ran up to his best he’d be thereabouts.

‘‘The more rain they get would suit us, but probably not some of the others. He’s run well on softish ground.

‘‘We are going there hopeful, not confident.’’ Alan King would like the ground to dry out to improve the chances of Tarotino, who was pulled up in the Paddy Power Gold Cup in testing conditions at Cheltenham on his latest start in November.

‘‘Tarotino wants good ground and Doncaster seems to be as close as we are going to get,’’ said the Barbury Castle trainer.

‘‘He did us proud last back-end and his early-season target was always going to be the Paddy Power Gold Cup, but as we feared, he hated the soft at Cheltenham, so the more it dries up the better.’’