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 sensible 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 Pageant 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 go down the Champion Hurdle route this season or change to the bigger obstacles.
On Tuesday, Sir Gino did function among the many entries for the Combating Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on November 30, the acknowledged comeback goal of his illustrious stablemate Structure Hill.
Nevertheless, Henderson later informed Unibet: “After a lot dialogue with Joe and Marie Donnelly (homeowners), Nico (de Boinville) and myself, we have now come to the conclusion that Sir Gino will go chasing this season.
“Clearly we have now Structure Hill, and there may be additionally State Man (additionally owned by the Donnellys) who’s severely within the equation, so the choice wasn’t a comparatively laborious one.
“Sir Gino has already schooled over fences and jumps very nicely, so I feel 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 just a few 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.”
Structure Hill is being ready for a return within the Combating Fifth on November 30, stay on Sky Sports activities Racing
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.”
