Native River’s owners Garth and Anne Broom believe the former Gold Cup winner is ‘back to his best’ ahead of a fourth run in the Cheltenham Festival feature.
Their heroic chestnut has had a quiet campaign, with just a sole win around Aintree on his record after follow-up outings to Kempton or Chepstow were shelved.
Third and fourth in March’s showpiece event, either side of his hard-fought win from Might Bite in the mud, Native River is on course to return to Prestbury Park in March.
The Denman Chase, a contest the staying chaser has won on two occasions, is once again on the radar.
Garth and Anne Broom bumped into the 2008 Gold Cup hero’s owner Paul Barber at Taunton earlier this week and were delighted to confirm the usual Newbury plan for their star.
“We are going for the Denman Chase and then to Cheltenham,” said Garth Broom.
“It will be our fourth Gold Cup with him which is quite a feat.
“We haven’t seen anything to give us sleepless nights so far.
“I know he’s at big odds in there but we feel he may be back to his best.
“He doesn’t know how to run a bad race.”
(Image: Getty Images)
The couple, who operate under the name of Brocade Racing, decided to swerve the King George VI Chase and Welsh National over Christmas, deciding to keep Native River fresh for a spring campaign.
His next race on February 8 will be just his fifth since his finest hour and the blinkers, used to such good effect last time, are staying on.
“At Aintree he seemed his old self, Richard (Johnson) said,” Garth Broom added.
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
“He gave him a feel like when he was at the top of his game, whereas last season he wasn’t quite his best
“When you win a Gold Cup it takes it out of them for a while.
“We were thinking we might have gone for the Welsh National but if he’s really back to his best again we decided to skip that, as we could have left the Gold Cup at Chepstow.
“We want to look after him- he’s a horse of a lifetime.
“So we are going on our tried and tested route again.”
Anne Broom said it took several months for the life-changing success, in a race now sponsored by drinks giant Magners, to properly sink in.
Native River is 20/1 to repeat what Kauto Star managed in 2009 and reclaim Cheltenham’s top prize he won two years earlier.
Stablemate Lostintranslation is expected to go straight there to make his challenge, after his Kempton disappointment, while Thistlecrack was not among the 31 entries unveiled this week.
