Prognosis good for Coneygree Connections of Coneygree hope to have the injured Cheltenham Gold Cup hero home from Newmarket Equine Hospital in time for Christmas. Mark Bradstock's brilliant eight-year-old, who looked so impressive on his return to action at Sandown in November, had been in the frame to run over the festive period in either the King George VI Chase at Kempton or in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown, but is now set for a lengthy spell out of action. While the injury is not thought to be career-threatening, Coneygree is not expected to return to action before the end of the current campaign and has been removed from ante-post lists for the Gold Cup. Sara Bradstock, the Oxfordshire trainer's wife and assistant, said: "The great thing is he's going to be OK and by the end of this week we should know when he'll be OK. "He's being looked after by the best people and we'll put a plan in place to try and help him win another Gold Cup. They're doing all sorts of things with him. "I hope to have him home by Christmas Day, so by the end of the weekend I should be able to put a timescale on how long he'll be out for and we can plan to bring him home after that. "The most important news is the prognosis is good."
