Unibet Champion Hurdle winner Golden Ace will be entered for next week’s Unibet Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton, but trainer Jeremy Scott will wait before making a final decision on whether she does head to the Somerset feature en route to the defence of her Festival crown.
A year ago Golden Ace beat Burdett Road by three quarters of a length at Wincanton and then went on to beat the same rival by 9 lengths as the pair finished first and second again in the Blue Riband a month later after one of the most dramatic Champion Hurdles ever run.
“She’s very well” reported Scott. "The only concern I have is that if all this rain keeps on coming we don’t want her to throw away any chance at Cheltenham by having a very tough race so close.
"If necessary we will go straight to the Festival."
Golden Ace's 25/1 success in the Champion, remembered for the falls of both Constitution Hill and State Man, sparked amazing scenes and cries of "Jezza" from a large following of family and friends, a feat repeated as she landed the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle earlier this season, again profiting from the jumping inadequacies of others in November.
She's hasn’t left home since finishing second to Sir Gino at Kempton at Christmas, with Scott an interested spectator as his star mare's likely opponents have strutted their stuff - or otherwise - in the past fortnight.
“The standouts earlier looked to be Sir Gino and Lossiemouth, but now we don’t have Sir Gino and Lossiemouth looked far less happy running over two miles than Brighterdaysahead, so it still looks open,” he said.
"The New Lion’s win at Cheltenham didn’t look a truly-run race so we did not learn too much.
"I’m a lot more optimistic this year than I was last!"
More from Sporting Life
- Free bets
- 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.
