Phil Kirby is confident his decision to skip Blaklion’s Cheltenham entries will pay dividends as he eyes Aintree glory.
The 10-year-old was last seen coming home fifth of 13 runners at Haydock last month and has since switched yards to Kirby’s from Nigel Twiston-Davies’.
Despite holding entries for both the Pertemps Final and Cheltenham Gold Cup at the Festival, the Richmond-handler decided a return to Prestbury Park would be unsuitable for the 2016 RSA Chase hero. Instead, he has bigger goals in mind, with the Grand National on April 6 the primary target for the remainder of the campaign, Some trainers thought it best to test their charges at Cheltenham ahead of the National, most notably last year’s winner Tiger Roll, who strolled to Cross Country Chase success for Gordon Elliott.
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Kirby says he and other connections are happy to instead keep their boy fresh for April, with things coming together nicely at home. He said: “It’s all been going to plan, and we’re heading straight to Aintree. The horse is fresh and well and seems in good form.”
