Corbetts Cross has been given an entry for Saturday’s Betfair Ascot Chase.
Emmett Mullins is pointing his eight-year-old towards next month's Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup and if taking up the engagement he would be racing for the first time since disappointing in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
"There are lots of thoughts going around but I spoke to Frank (Berry) and Mr McManus this morning and we’ve decided to give him the entry, have a look and keep our options open,” the trainer told Monday’s Nick Luck Daily Podcast.
“For the time being there’s nothing set in concrete. We’ll probably either go to Ascot or straight to Cheltenham. To go to England twice in five or six weeks is probably a bit of a difficult decision, whether you want to put the horse through that, but he’s in great order and I’m very happy with him.
"We're 95% there and a run or a racecourse gallop somewhere is going to have us at 100%. It’s not as if we’re going to Ascot and blow up or something, we just have one more screw to be tightened to hopefully have him at peak condition."
Willie Mullins has entered Blue Lord, while last year’s winner Pic D’Orhy and L’Homme Presse spearhead the home defence which is completed by Flegmatik, Hitman and Le Patron.
The Betfair Ascot Chase – Sponsors Odds: 11/10 Pic D’Orhy, 6/4 L’Homme Presse, 4/1 Le Patron , 5/1 Corbetts Cross, 10/1 Blue Lord, 10/1Hitman, 50/1 Flegmatik
More from Sporting Life
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.