Sport

Williamson to team up with Richards

NORMAN Willianson was yesterday drafted into Gordon Richards' team for next Thursday week's Gold Cup.

Tue Mar 04 1997 - 00:00

NORMAN Willianson was yesterday drafted into Gordon Richards' team for next Thursday week's Gold Cup.

Williamson, who landed the Cheltenham showpiece on Master Oats two years ago, will fill the gap left by the Jockey Club doctor's decision to stand Brian Harding down for a year after the rider suffered a seizure.

Richards said yesterday: "I have got four Gold Cup entries and four jockeys: Richard Dunwoody; Tony Dobbin; Paul Carberry and Norman Williamson.

"Norman Williamson may be on Unguided Missile and Paul Carberry may now be on Addington Boy, although I don't know for certain yet."

READ MORE

Dunwoody is set to partner dual King George VI Chase winner One Man with Dobbin on The Grey Monk.

Stable-companion General Command was among the entries published yesterday for the Cathcart Chase but the plan is still to run him in the Astec Buzz Shop Chase.

"I think he will still go for the race that used to be the Ritz," Richards said. "But he might just run in the Cathcart if I think he might win and won't win the Ritz."

Ron Hodges is set to bid for the Royal Sun Alliance Chase with Hanakham whom he yesterday named "the best horse we have had here for a long time".

The West country trainer put the eight-year-old in Cheltenham's National Hunt Chase, for which entries were also published yesterday.

But he said: "The owner is keener on the Sun Alliance so he'll probably go for that we'll decide in the next few days."

Strong Promise has been entered in the Cathcart Challenge Cup Chase on the third day but only "as a precautionary measure".

Chris Kinane, assistant to the gelding's trainer Geoff Hubbard, said: "It is only as a precautionary measure. Strong Promise will run in the two-mile Queen Mother Champion Chase on the Wednesday, but if he fell early on in that, the Cathcart would be available to him. The horse is in extremely good form."

Meanwhile, Queen Mother Champion Chase candidate Martha's Son will school over fences after racing at Bangor tomorrow. Tim Forster's 10-year-old, prior to his second-fence fall on his reappearance at Kempton last month had been off through injury since November 1995.