Replendent Grey firmly on course for Newbury Gold run

Olly Murphy will not rush a decision over long-term plans for Coral Gold Cup favourite Resplendent Grey as the seven-year-old prepares for the Newbury feature.

The son of Walk In The Park ended last season with victory in the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown and saw off Handstands when he reappeared in the Listed Colin Parker at Carlisle earlier this month.

With the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National potentially targets, Murphy is keen to take it one day at a time, with Newbury next on the agenda on Saturday week.

Murphy said: “He’s really well, his preparations have gone well. He had a prep run at Carlisle, where he won, which was a bonus; he’s in really good form and we’re really looking forward to next Saturday.

“Obviously the Gold Cup is his main target. Whether he’s going to be a Grand National horse come April, I’m not quite sure, but I think two weeks’ time will tell us a lot more. He’s in really good form. I feel like he’s improving and if he carries on improving, hopefully he’ll run very well.”

Strong Leader will attempt to defend his title in the Grade Two Coral Long Distance Hurdle and Murphy was impressed with his work in a Newbury gallop on Tuesday.

Murphy said: “I was chuffed to bits with him. Sean (Bowen) said he felt great. He’s in really good form and we’re looking forward to running him.”

The eight-year-old won his seasonal debut in the bet365 Hurdle at Wetherby and Murphy is convinced he will come on for that run after narrowly seeing off Dan Skelton’s Take No Chances in West Yorkshire.

Murphy added: “Dan nearly caught me on the hop. His mare had had a run and had a fitness edge on me. So I think now we’ve had a run under our belt, we’ll just sharpen up. I think Newbury will suit him a little bit better than Wetherby, too.”