North Yorkshire trainer Malcolm Jefferson is in no rush to decide whether to let Cape Tribulation carry top weight in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury.
The nine-year-old now heads a 23-strong field for Saturday’s hugely prestigious staying handicap following the anticipated defection of Tidal Bay.
Jefferson had considered entering Cape Tribulation, who was pulled up on his seasonal debut in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby, in the Long Distance Hurdle on the same card, but that idea has been scrapped.
“The horse is in good form, but we haven’t decided what we’re doing yet. We’ll see what the weather does and everything else,” he said.
“We thought about the hurdle race, but we’ve sort of changed our minds. We haven’t entered him for that in the end.
“If he runs he’ll have top weight, but he carried top weight over hurdles at Aintree last year.
“We’ll just have to see what happens.”
Fellow Yorkshire-trained runner Cloudy Too is set to take his chance at Newbury, despite being given an entry in Newcastle’s At The Races Rehearsal Chase on the same day.
The seven-year-old, trained in Bingley by Sue Smith, was a most impressive winner of a Listed race at Carlisle at the start of the month.