Final season’s star juvenile hurdler Sir Gino is about to embark on a profession over fences this time period, his coach Nicky Henderson has confirmed.
The French import was good in successful his first two begins in Britain, with a 14-length victory at Kempton over Christmas adopted by a 10-length defeat of the high-class Burdett Highway in a Triumph Hurdle Trial at Cheltenham in January.
The four-year-old missed the Triumph Hurdle on the Competition in March, however signed off with a complete Grade One victory at Aintree and his connections have spent the summer season deliberating whether or not to move down the Champion Hurdle route this season or change to the bigger obstacles.
On Tuesday, Sir Gino did characteristic among the many entries for the Combating Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on November 30, the said comeback goal of his illustrious stablemate Structure Hill.
Nonetheless, Henderson later advised Unibet: “After a lot dialogue with Joe and Marie Donnelly (house owners), Nico (de Boinville) and myself, we now have come to the conclusion that Sir Gino will go chasing this season.
“Clearly we now have Structure Hill, and there’s additionally State Man (additionally owned by the Donnellys) who’s significantly within the equation, so the choice wasn’t a comparatively onerous one.
“Sir Gino has already schooled over fences and jumps very nicely, so I believe the factor to do is go down this route and if issues do not go to plan, we are able to at all times revert again to hurdles, which we did very efficiently with Buveur D’Air a number of years in the past.
“There’s nothing to say we can’t do that again if we have to, but for the time being I’d like to go chasing and he’s coming along very nicely.”
Sir Gino may start his chasing profession in a race the coach has used efficiently earlier than.
He added: “The plan is to start him off at Kempton on November 25 in the two-mile-two-furlong beginners chase, which is a race we’ve used for Altior and Shishkin; it’s usually quite a ‘friendly’ race, so we think that’s where we ought to try.
“He does have an entry within the Combating Fifth, however that’s nothing greater than speculative in case something, God forbid, would imply Structure Hill is unable to run there.”