La Bague Au Roi still on track for King George

Trainer Warren Greatrex says stable star La Bague Au Roi is still on track for the King George VI Chase despite a poor run at Wetherby. The eight-year-old was pulled up on Saturday as she made his first appearance of the new jumps season. La Bague Au Roi won her first four races over fences, including Grade One successes at Kempton and Leopardstown. She never travelled at her fluent best last weekend, and champion jockey Richard Johnson decided to save her for another day. Despite the setback, Greatrex says he is still planning to head to Kempton on Boxing Day. He told reporters: “Nothing has come to light, and she’s come out of the race as bright as a button. “I think we’ll just have to put a line through it and move on. She has won in that sort of ground before -but that was against inferior opposition, whereas on Saturday she was running in a Grade Two against seasoned campaigners. “I think her class got her as far as she did, and Dicky (Johnson) pulled her up pretty quickly when it wasn’t happening. “It was probably trainer error, running her in that ground, but it’s easy with hindsight.”