Odds cut on King's Road

Nigel Twiston-Davies yesterday dismissed as "ridiculous" Cheltenham Gold Cup quotes of just 20 to 1 for Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup winner King's Road.

The trainer stressed it is odds against his mudlark even lining up for the race, given his dependence on soft going.

King's Road soared up the Gold Cup market after ploughing through the mud to score by five lengths from Gingembre in the Newbury showpiece on Saturday, and is offered at 20 to 1 for next March's race. But Twiston-Davies said: "That is ridiculous. He is unlikely even to run as he will only go if it is a bog and it hasn't been that for years and years."

Chepstow on December 27th is a far more likely target for King's Road, who emerged unscathed from Saturday's race.

"He will definitely run next in the Welsh National," Twiston-Davies said. "He's fine this morning, absolutely 100%."

But the trainer is convinced there is something amiss with Beau, who was chosen by stablejockey Carl Llewellyn in preference to King's Road in the Hennessy only to be pulled up two fences from home.

"Beau seems fine but I am sure there is something wrong with him," Twiston-Davies said.

Beau's price for the Gold Cup has been pushed out to 8 to 1 from 11 to 2 by William Hill.

Betting: (Tote Cheltenham Gold Cup): 7-2 See More Business, 8-1 Beau (11-2), Cyfor Malta, 12-1 First Gold, 14-1 Florida Pearl, 16-1 Alexander Banquet, 20-1 Ad Hoc, Kings Road (40-1), 25-1 bar.

Meanwhile, Warren Marston will get a share of prize money despite being "jocked-off" runner-up Gingembre. He was replaced by Andrew Thornton on the Lavinia Taylor-trained six-year-old, who earned £19,800 when going down by five lengths to King's Road. Gingembre had failed to complete the course when ridden by Marston on his three previous outings, unseating the rider twice and falling at Cheltenham.

But his trainer's husband John Taylor stressed yesterday: "Warren will still receive the rider's percentage.

"He rode the horse in the spring and we have no criticism of his jockeyship."

Direct Route is fancied to improve his already-impressive record in the race by landing the £75,000 Mitsubishi Shogun Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown next Saturday.

Howard Johnson's nine-year-old is one of the most popular and reliable horses in training and has been competing at the highest level over fences for three years.

Having made his seasonal debut in the Haldon Gold Cup at Exeter for the last two seasons, he was forced to bypass the event this year with the ground riding unsuitably soft for him.

So he must make his seasonal bow in this top-flight contest, which is asking a lot of any horse.

However, such is the fine record of Howard Johnson's charge over this course and distance that he can defy his lack of match-fitness to take the spoils for the second time, having beaten Edredon Bleu in 1998.

John Gosden's Salee, Gerard Butler's Seren Hill and Chris Thornton's Flossy are set to run in the Prix Belle de Nuit at Maisons-Laffitte today. Salee, for whom top French rider Davy Bonilla has been booked, was far from disgraced when sixth in the Group Three Prix Fille de l'Air at Toulouse last time.