Listener aiming for Gold campaign
Robert Alner hopes The Listener can develop into a contender for the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The grey looked a smart novice chaser in the first half of last season when winning his first three starts over fences but then things went wrong and he fell in his two subsequent races.
Alner revealed the seven-year-old would probably make his seasonal debut next month, as long as there was plenty of cut in the ground.
“He won’t appear until December and we’re hoping he’ll build up to the Gold Cup,” Alner told Racing UK.
“He definitely needs soft ground and he wants a bit of practice over fences as he’s tipped up a couple of times.
“Initially he was a fantastic jumper. We are aiming towards the Gold Cup and we are just praying the weather suits us.
“If it’s anything like firm ground he won’t even run.”
