David Pipe is hopeful of landing more success at Cheltenham this week with a couple of live contenders on day one of the December meeting on Friday.
King Turgeon is back to defend his crown in the Turners Handicap Chase, while the trainer runs recent Chepstow mares' maiden winner Kingston Queen in the opening British EBF "National Hunt" Novices' Hurdle.
Kingston Queen is a 25/1 chance with Paddy Power and Sky Bet for the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at the Festival in March following her seven-length success, which came on the back of a fine third to Seo Linn in the Grade 2 Goffs Nickel Coin Mares' Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race at Aintree on her final run of last term at Aintree.
Speaking on the Nick Lucky Daily Podcast, Pipe said: "Kingston Queen is in good form, we had to miss Newbury the other day, she had a slight temperature. That was a mares' race which would have been ideal.
"We're taking on the boys around Cheltenham. She's never been around Cheltenham but I'm sure she'll like it, she'll like the ground.
"All she's done is progress. She seems to be more streetwise this season, this is a tough race but we're very hopeful. Cheltenham will answer a few questions for us, she's probably crying out for a bit further (than two miles) but she ran a cracking race around Aintree in the bumper on good ground, which she handled but she's probably not as effective on it."
Meanwhile, Windbeneathmywings who was among the antepost favourites for the Weatherbys Champion Bumper for much of the 2024/25 campaign before being ruled out through injury, is not yet ready to reappear on a racecourse but is reportedly still showing all the right signs at home.
Pipe said: "He's progressing slowly, but it is slowly. We're hoping to get one run into him before Cheltenham (Festival in March). He had a small hot-spot in one of his hind legs, we just had to go easy with him and ease up on his work.
"We had him away for a racecourse gallop and he'd gone nicely. But we just have to ease off with him, the rules have changed now and obviously you have to have a run before you go to Cheltenham over hurdles. It's a shame as we could have rerouted to run him in the Bumper but the rules don't allow that either.
"It's a bit of a problem at the present moment. The main thing is to take our time and when he's right, he's right.
"When he went for the racecourse gallop, the flame was definitely still there. He was very good at Ascot and he's a lovely horse to have in the yard."
Pipe does have some more promising horses to look forward to in the near future, too. He said: "We've a nice bumper horse called Indulto Rouge who finished third at Hereford. Jack Tudor just sat on him up the gallops actually and he felt he'd come on since Hereford so I hope he's right.
"Gentleman Toboot was good at Exeter the other day, that was over two miles. He'll probably develop into a lovely staying chaser but he's been good, a lot stronger this season. He's progressing."
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