CHIPPING Norton trainer Charlie Longsdon felt a wind operation was the key to Coologue’s courageous victory in the Randox Handicap Chase at Cheltenham.
The seven-year-old pulled out more for champion jockey Richard Johnson on the run-in after being headed briefly by Keltus to land the three-miles-and-a-furlong contest, which carried a first prize of £31,280, by a length.
Longsdon said: “He had a wind operation after the summer. It has given him confidence. That is probably the most important thing and he likes the decent ground.
“That is as straight as our horse has ever got. We have not been able to ride him full bore in the past. He has gone off to the left before and I would say the wind operation has made all the difference.”
It was Longsdon’s second 8-1 winner at the home of jump racing in the space of two days after Midnight Shot made all the running to take a handicap hurdle – 11 months after he suffered a fractured skull when brought down at the same venue.
Longsdon said: “Midnight Shot fractured his skull here last year when he was brought down by a horse that clipped heels.
“It ruined the middle half of the season because it took him three runs to get his confidence back and it was only at the end of the season that he started getting going.
“It probably gave him the chance to start this season slightly better handicapped than normal.”
The Cheltenham triumphs came after Longsdon landed a 14-1 double at Worcester with Monty’s Award (6-1) and Monbeg Charmer (5-4 favourite), with Tom Scudamore and Brian Hughes in the saddle respectively.
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