'Is he good enough to run in a Gold Cup? I'd like to think so' - does the reappearing Handstands have what it takes to reach the top?

Handstands takes his first steps towards the Cheltenham Gold Cup when reappearing in the Colin Parker Memorial Intermediate Chase (2.37) at Carlisle on Sunday. The Grade 1 winner is a best-priced 66-1 chance for the Gold Cup – and here we assess whether he can develop into a leading contender.

Can he get to the Gold Cup?

It depends on how things go this season, but the Colin Parker is regularly a returning point for second-season chasers who go on to run in Gold Cups and Grand Nationals.

Saphir Du Rheu (2015) and Lostintranslation (2019) were both Grade 1 winners when landing the race in the last decade, while Waiting Patiently (2017) subsequently followed up at the top level, and Handstands has already ticked that box as a Scilly Isles Novices' Chase winner.

Lostintranslation: a superb winner of the Colin Parker in 2019Credit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Ben Pauling is hoping Carlisle can act as a stepping stone to Haydock's Betfair Chase on November 22 and a clash with another top British chaser in Grey Dawning, with that test expected to play to his strengths.

"He's going to either run in the Betfair Chase or the Coral Gold Cup," said Pauling. "I imagine it'll be the Betfair, depending on how things go at Carlisle. He's tailor-made for it – a big galloping track, soft ground, and three miles is right up his street.

"It's very important to get a run into him before that because I don't think we want to turn up fresh. Depending on how the first half of the season goes, the second will map itself out. Is he good enough to run in a Gold Cup? I'd like to think so, but he needs to prove it in open company."

If he ends November as a Colin Parker and Betfair Chase winner, he will not be a 66-1 shot for the Gold Cup.

Is he good enough?

A rating of 157 gives him a fair way to climb to match last year's Gold Cup winner Inothewayurthinkin and Galopin Des Champs, who are both rated 176.

However, this time last year Inothewayurthinkin was rated 158, so it is certainly possible. Grey Dawning, his big rival for the Betfair Case, is now rated 166, so he does not have to improve much to become one of Britain's leading challengers.

Grey Dawning: one of Britain's best chasersCredit: Edward Whitaker

"He's definitely one of the main players in the yard," Pauling said. "It's been like clockwork since he's been back in this season, and you always hope they'll return in the same form, if not better. He looks a bigger, stronger horse, and we couldn't be happier with him.

"It's a lovely starting point for him. It's a decent race, but we can't wait to get him out. We're hoping and praying the ground will be on the easy side – it doesn't have to be soft, but we don't want it to be quick.

"It takes a lot of luck and a very good horse to get them to this stage of their career, and it's not until you've got them there that you think how difficult it can be. Some of my best horses – Willoughby Court, Barters Hill, Bright Forecast – they had issues and they never got there. I'd love to see them compete on the biggest stage."

Could his biggest threat to becoming Britain's best be his stablemate?

Pauling is fortunate enough to have two classy chasers in his yard, with The Jukebox Man also reappearing this season as a Grade 1 winner after landing the Kauto Star Novices' Chase on Boxing Day.

He is still in the Paddy Power Gold Cup, for which he is a general 10-1 chance, and Coral Gold Cup – which is still a possibility for Handstands if connections opt not to go to Haydock – but he is thought of as a potential King George candidate.

The Jukebox Man: exciting chaser is being aimed at the King George VI ChaseCredit: Edward Whitaker

Pauling said: "I don't think Handstands and The Jukebox Man will meet each other. The Jukebox Man shows a lot of speed on the course. Handstands won a Scilly Isles, so he's not slow, but he wouldn't be a horse for a King George – and I think Jukebox is. They go very quickly in the first half of the King George, and he's got that pace.

"The Jukebox Man might not quite be ready for the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham, but he's got a handicap mark of 151, and if he's good as we think he is, then he could make that look quite attractive. Then something like the 1965 Chase could be an option."

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