All roads lead to Cheltenham for Gredley Festival hopes

LONDON: Connections are keeping their options open with Cheltenham scorers East India Dock and Burdett Road as they ponder preparations for the Festival in March.

Trained by James Owen for the Gredley family, the pair came out on top during the November meeting at Prestbury Park and a return there in March is very much the main aim.

Burdett Road enjoyed a successful Flat season in the summer, highlighted by winning the Listed Godolphin Stakes at Newmarket, and made a seamless return to timber when seeing off Be Aware by half a length in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle.

East India Dock has made an impressive start to his hurdling career, cosily winning on his debut at Wincanton before stepping up to Grade Two company and galloping home 18 lengths clear to win the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle.

The Golden Horn gelding holds an entry in Saturday’s BoyleSports Acca Boost Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree, but whether he takes up that engagement has yet to be decided, with another Triumph trial at Cheltenham also on cards early next year.

Owner-breeder Tim Gredley said plans were fluid but the ultimate decision on where the pair go would be down to trainer Owen.

He said: “James will decide that. As long as we end up at the Triumph (with East India Dock), and I think the plan for the Festival is for both of them to have one more run between now and the Festival and then where they are, we haven’t decided yet.

“I would say more than likely we will go for the race back at Cheltenham in early January, there’s another trial there, so maybe there, but I’ll leave that to James.

“What we have said is that we want to go to the Festival and both of them have one more run, but what races there are for Burdett I don’t know yet.”

Lavender Hill Mob made his much-anticipated debut for Owen at Newcastle on Saturday but had to settle for a four-and-three-quarter-length second to Inappropriate after just passing Spartan Warrior on the line.

The three-year-old son of Expert Eye holds a series of entries over the weekend but the option is also there for the Triumph trial at Cheltenham.

Gredley said: “I hope he comes on for the run. I think we’re going to run him again quickly and see how we go.”