Smith confident Master Minded will bounce back Owner Clive Smith feels Master Minded just needs a little fine-tuning to get him back to his best for a crack at the William Hill King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen's Day. Smith described the eight-year-old's performance in finishing last of three behind Albertas Run on his return in the Old Roan Chase at Aintree on Saturday as "a blip". The dual Queen Mother Champion Chase hero could take in the Amlin Chase at Ascot on November 19, which he won last year, before tackling three miles for the first time in the Christmas showpiece. "He's fine. I've spoken to Paul Nicholls and he feels he could have done with the ground being a bit softer," said Smith. "He hung right and just clipped a fence early on, and that seemed to put him off his balance. "It was a bit disappointing, really. Everybody hoped he'd run a bit better than that, but the trainer says he's left loads of work on him and we think he'll get right in the end. "He needs a bit of practice to warm up. Once he gets in the trim of jumping properly he's so fast. "I think he'll come on well. It was just a blip, nothing to worry about. "I think Paul underestimated how fit he was. I don't think he was quite to the level Paul would have liked. "Next time he certainly will be."
