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'He's just rocketed' - Jefferson hopes Sounds Russian can scale Cotswold next
Ruth Jefferson says her rising star Sounds Russian has "rocketed" since he made his racing debut just under two years ago and hopes his improvement has not stopped yet, with a shot at the Gold Cup on the line at Cheltenham on Saturday.
The eight-year-old is rated 50lb higher than when scoring for the first time in a Sedgefield handicap off a mark of 111 in December 2021. He has since landed three more races and been placed twice in two competitive staying handicaps. His latest 4lb rise came after he ran Into Overdrive to half a length in the Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby on Boxing Day, a performance that prompted owners Claxby and Co to give him an entry for the Cheltenham Festival's biggest prize.
Saturday's Paddy Power Cotswold Chase (2.25) will determine whether that is a legitimate target as he is set for a thorough test with higher-rated Gold Cup hopefuls Protektorat and Noble Yeats in the line-up.
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