David Bridgwater has admitted he is not in a position to be too selective over The Conditional's plans as he targets Ascot's Dave Dawes Silver Cup.
The Conditional impressed in third behind Cloth Cap in Saturday's Ladbrokes Trophy, racing off a 9lb higher mark than last year in his first run out this season, having won at the Cheltenham Festival back in March.
The Grand National remains a long-term target for The Conditional and Bridgwater is assessing his options for the Ultima Handicap Chase hero, but he has ruled out last year's path which took in Warwick.
An Ascot run next month is very much on the agenda though and Bridgwater was impressed enough by his seasonal bow to expect bigger things in the future.
“Look, we'd have loved to have won, of course we would, but to finish third, having been second last year – and it was first time out this year – I thought he'd improved physically and I'm looking forward to his next run now,” Bridgwater said.
“I don't think we'll go to Warwick. I don't think that Classic Chase suited us last year – it didn't work, so why go back? The only time he'll go beyond three and a quarter miles is if and when he runs in the Grand National.
“He won't run over hurdles, I'm not into all that – it's just not cricket for me. There's a nice race at Ascot on December 19. It's normally worth £100,000, but it's £60,000 this year. He'll have an entry for that, and we'll see how we get on.
“If you've got dozens of horses for these races you can pick and choose. But it was the same when we had the Bolster – we took every race as it comes.”
