Alner puts Carberry on stand-by
Paul Carberry has been put on stand-by to partner Kingscliff in the Stan James King George VI Chase if Robert Walford fails in his race to be fit for the Boxing Day showpiece.
Walford suffered a hairline fracture of his left collarbone in a schooling accident at Robert Alner’s Dorset stable last Thursday.
However, he did ride out for the trainer today, suggesting he could still be fit for Sandown.
“Robert rode out this morning but I would only say he was still 50-50,” said Alner.
“He didn’t ride Kingscliff, I did, but he did a canter on the all-weather for me.
“He’s a very sensible lad and there’s no way he would ride the horse if he didn’t feel 100% right.
“We have approached Paul Carberry with a view to using him as a Plan B but he’s also got Harchibald to think about and he’s not even 100% certain he will be riding at Sandown.
“We’ve also got a Plan C to use another rider, so there are plenty of options.
“There’s £1million at stake and we won’t be taking any chances.
“The horse is very well and we’ll just have to see how Robert gets on.”
Kingscliff put himself in line for the £1m (€1.46m) Betfair Million for any horse winning the Betfair Chase, King George and Cheltenham Gold Cup when successful in the first of those three races at Haydock last month.
