George looking for good ground
Tom George is hoping for decent ground at Newbury ahead of Lord Of Illusion’s crack at the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup on Saturday.
The eight-year-old lines up for the Grade Three Handicap after a pipe-opener over hurdles on softish going at Cheltenham, and George is looking for better ground at the Berkshire track.
He told At The Races: “He is a big tall horse so weight is not a problem to him, but it is vital he has good ground and I wouldn’t be running him on soft as he can’t act on it.
“Newbury is definitely his type of track and he is also best going left handed.”
Lord Of Illusion won three races on the bounce last term, including a competitive heat at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day, but was pulled up on his seasonal bow two weeks ago.
“If the Hennessy was last March he would be a very short price as his form stood up very well but he just had an infected sinus which curtailed his season,” George continued.
“He had that operated on over the summer but it has taken a unbelievable amount of work to get him fit as he is very tall and angular and very thick winded.
“I wanted to run him three or four weeks ago in a hurdle race but he wasn’t quite ready, so we ran him in the hurdle race at Cheltenham where the ground was far too soft but we had to get a run into him before Saturday.
“He has come out of it well and has been working and schooling well.”
