Lalor impresses on his chase debut at Cheltenham
Lalor impresses on his chase debut at Cheltenham

Lalor to head straight to Racing Post Arkle


Lalor will chart a direct route towards the Racing Post Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham after trainer Kayley Woollacott decided not to declare him for Doncaster on Saturday.

Woollacott had a look at the track while attending Doncaster Sales on Wednesday and was not prepared to risk her stable star on ground that has been watered due to the lack of rain.

"The weather hasn't helped anyone, they've been watering it for quite a while just to maintain it and we don't really want to be running Lalor on watered ground in the middle of winter," she said in her Betway blog.

"It's just not the same as good ground at Cheltenham in the spring for example. I had a good chat with Dicky (Richard Johnson) and his owner David Staddon on the way home from Doncaster and we all agreed that the best plan is to go straight to Cheltenham.

"As I've said before, we know he goes well fresh and his form in the spring has always been very good. He's in great form, he did one of his best pieces of work this season last Friday, so it's a shame that we're not going up to Donny, but we don't think it's worth the risk. We'll now just focus on training him for the Arkle and hope he gets there in one piece and in great form."

Lalor is 5/1 joint-favourite alongside Kalashnikov (non-runner/no bet) for the Racing Post Arkle.


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