Newbury beckons for Global Citizen

The eight-year-old failed to complete a race for the first time in his career when pulling up on his seasonal return in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter last week.

Pauling hopes Global Citizen can leave that effort behind in either the Get Your Ladbrokes £1 Free Bet Today Handicap Chase on November 27 or the Ladbrokes Handicap Chase, better known as the Jim Joel Memorial Trophy, 24 hours later.

He said: “Global Citizen came out of the Exeter race fine, and the likelihood is that he will go to Newbury now at the end of the month.

“He will either go for the two-mile-three handicap chase on the Friday or what is the Jim Joel Memorial Trophy.

“He should have dropped to a nice mark for a handicap like either of those.”

With a decision to drop Global Citizen in behind the pace at Exeter failing to work, Pauling plans to switch him back to the front-running tactics which have served him well in the past.

He added: “It was disappointing at Exeter, but we thought we would try different tactics and just drop him in. Some horses don’t enjoy being ridden like that, and he is one.

“He likes to flick his toe out and attack the fences and not sit in behind horses where he can’t do that.”

Pauling has announced the retirement of 2019 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle third Bright Forecast, who missed all of last season and has since suffered a second heart issue.

He added: “His heart has gone out of rhythm twice, and we now feel it is going to be hard to keep it right.

“He has gone back to his owners, we have to keep the horse’s interest at heart, and there is no point carrying on.

“It is a desperate shame, there are no two ways about it, because in the short spell he had with us he was very exciting.”