George Seeking The Gold Tom George believes a freshened-up Nacarat should give a much more positive account in the Connaught Gold Cup at Newbury on Saturday. The seven-year-old made a huge impression when bolting up by 14 lengths on his British debut at Wincanton at the beginning of January. He subsequently disappointed when pulling up at Cheltenham three weeks later, but George believes there were genuine excuses for that no-show and is now looking forward to this weekend´s Grade Three handicap. "I think it was a combination of factors that went against him last time," the trainer said. "Firstly, I think I ran him back too soon after his Wincanton win as he needs to be fresh, and I also think the undulating course caught him out a bit. "He´d never raced on that sort of track before ? he´d been used to running on flat tracks ? and I think those were the two major factors, but the ground was also like glue. "If you look at his French form he´s done it before. They swapped him about a bit over fences and hurdles as I think he just needs to be fresh." Nacarat still holds an entry in the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival next month, but connections are not anticipating another quick reappearance. "I don´t think he´d get in the Coral Cup anyway and our plan at the moment is to hopefully go on to Aintree with him," George added. (C) PA Sport
