Gesskille team have cross-country option to consider next month

Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero will keep the Grand National in mind for Gesskille following his win in the Grand Sefton over the famous Aintree fences, with the training duo also contemplating a run over the cross-country course at Cheltenham next month.

The seven-year-old has proven a brilliant operator over the famous spruce since joining the Cheshire-based training team, and after a couple of near-misses at the track last term, finally got his moment in the Merseyside spotlight as jockey Henry Brooke bounced out his mount who made every yard in testing conditions.

That victory has seen Gesskille rise to a career-high mark of 144, but with the world’s most famous steeplechase set to have reduced numbers for 2024, Greenall feels he may have to improve further in the ratings to guarantee his spot and is considering a run at Cheltenham on December 15 before firming up plans for the spring.

He said: “He would need to go up a bit to get in (the Grand National), so we will just see and he might go to the cross-country race at Cheltenham in December and see how we go after that really.

“We will keep him fresh anyway for a spring campaign, whether that is Auteuil or the National, we will have to wait and see.”

Gesskille was beaten a nose in the Grand Sefton 12 months ago, before filling the same runner-up berth in the Becher Chase a month later.

However, Greenall credits the application of blinkers as making the real difference for the gelding, who was a game winner at Auteuil in his new headgear prior to his Aintree triumph.

“He seems a little bit more professional with the headgear, it has definitely helped him,” he added.

“People said the loose horse helped him (at Aintree) and I’m sure it did a little bit. But with the headgear, he seemed to be staying on gamely anyway.”