Sky Bet Chase: Go Law ready for Doncaster feature with Cheltenham Festival targets on horizon

Trainer Jamie Snowden has no doubts about the potential of Sky Bet Chase contender Ga Law, with a potential 2024 Cheltenham Gold Cup bid on the horizon for his star chaser.

The seven-year-old returned with a career best in the Paddy Power Gold Cup meeting in November, where he just beat France’s Dynamite to claim the £90,000 prize under Johnny Burke.

And while the original plan was to go to Ascot, that was cut short due to frozen ground and the focus will now be on Doncaster and the Sky Bet Chase instead, live this Saturday on Sky Sports Racing.

He also has an entry in Cheltenham, but Snowden expects to send his stable star on a trip for the £100,000 Doncaster feature over three miles.

“The plan was always to go on a trip and he won the Paddy Power [Gold Cup] through endurance after being a bit faster earlier in the race,” Snowden told Sky Sports Racing.

“Ascot seemed like a perfect springboard for that, but of course it shouldn’t be, so he’s in the Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster. There’s a two-mile-and-four [furlong] in Cheltenham for which we will place an entry, but the Sky Bet is plan A.

“He doesn’t want to run on fast ground, so safe ground is what we’re looking for. His best form hasn’t been on a bog, but the ground at Doncaster or Cheltenham should be fine.”

Ga Law has also received entries for both the Ryanair Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup, and while the odds of 66 and 100/1 for those races would indicate they are longshots, Snowden insisted he thinks his horse could develop to a first-class artist.

“I entered the nice entries, but a lot depends on how the upcoming runs go,” he added.

“Look at Imperial Commander though, he won the Paddy Power and won the Ryanair that year and the Gold Cup the following year.

“It would be nice to think that he could develop into a Gold Cup horse in 2024, but it takes a lot of water under the bridge for that and he has to keep improving.

“He’s just a young horse, only seven, and with very few miles on the clock. There’s no reason why he couldn’t keep improving.”

“I think that’s probably a bit of a breeze this year, but never say never.

“I had previously hoped that if things had gone well at Ascot we would look at the Denman in Newbury, but that’s probably a bit too close to Doncaster and Cheltenham.

“There’s a three-mile listed race at Kelso in March and of course the handicaps at the Cheltenham Festival, but a lot depends on how we go at the weekend.”