Stayers' Hurdle hope Dashel Drasher can improve more says trainer Jeremy Scott

Jeremy Scott confirmed the Stayers' Hurdle as the next target for Dashel Drasher after his second on Trials day at Cheltenham and hopes he can reverse the form with Gold Tweet with a smoother preparation.

The cold snap during the two weeks leading up to last weekend's meeting meant Scott's flagbearer missed key work in preparation for the Cleeve Hurdle and the trainer expects he will only improve if able to get a more straightforward build-up for his Cheltenham Festival target.

Dashel Drasher won at the highest level in the Ascot Chase in February 2021 but Saturday's three-length second was further evidence to convince connections to keep him over hurdles. His trainer had previously said he felt he was equally good over fences but felt the Stayers' Hurdle was a weaker race than the Ryanair Chase.

The ten-year-old has not run at the festival since finishing midfield in the 2018 Champion Bumper at 100-1, but he can be backed at as short as 12-1 for the Stayers' on March 16.

Scott, who trains in Brompton Regis, Somerset, said: "He's come out of the race well and we'll go to the festival with him now. We've got to find a few pounds of improvement somewhere, but he missed quite a bit of work running up to that race, so maybe we can.

"The frozen weather held us up a little bit and it wasn't ideal. I'm not sure it made a huge difference, but it would've been nice if we'd gone there a little bit straighter."

Dashel Drasher was continuing a fine season, his Cleeve Hurdle effort being a third consecutive second-place finish. He had previously chased home Noble Yeats in the Many Clouds Chase at Aintree in December before proving no match for the turn of foot Marie's Rock showed in the Relkeel at Cheltenham on New Year's Day.

"He's a very sound horse who always gives you a run for your money," the trainer added. "It'll be interesting to see how good the Irish are. Paisley Park was the one we thought we needed to beat and we managed to do that, but he may just have had an off-day. It's an exciting position to be in."

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