Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Barry Geraghty thinks a return to cheekpieces is the spark that Shishkin needs to threaten in next month’s Festival showpiece.
The star 10-year-old got his season back on track with victory in the Denman Chase at Newbury on Saturday, proving too strong for Hitman and Protektorat, both part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson.
The win came after he refused to start on seasonal reappearance back in November at Ascot, before falling when looking set to run a huge race and possibly win the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
The dramatic refusal came while wearing cheekpieces, which were taken off for both runs at Kempton and Newbury, although trainer Nicky Henderson put the non-start down to his freshness rather than headgear.
And whilst it would be a gamble to attempt them for a second time in the Cheltenham Gold Cup next month, Barry Geraghty thinks it’s a chance worth taking if it could improve his jumping and spark him further in the early stages of the race.
Shishkin heads for home in front of Hitman in the Denman Chase
“It was great,” Geraghty told the Off The Fence digital show. “He’s had a mixed time of it this season and the performance he was putting up in the King George was the real Shishkin.
“It was more laboured on Saturday and he seemed to race behind the bridle and that didn’t help his jumping – he was a bit sticky at a few fences.
“He was only doing as much as he had to in the finish. That’s unlike Protektorat who did too much and ran with enthusiasm and paid the price for that in the finish.
“Hitman’s proximity to Shishkin does make you question the form but I suppose you can look at what he did in the King George and he just proved his wellbeing at Newbury.
“For me, he looked like he raced like a horse who needed cheekpieces back on him.
“The question would be would they risk cheekpieces on him after he refused at Ascot but it was that he was fresh as the reason.
“For him to be competitive in the Gold Cup, he will have to jump an awful lot sharper and if they put them back on, they might just get that out of Shishkin.”
Watch the Off The Fence digital show on the At The Races YouTube channel.
