Goshen was one of three runners withdrawn from the Elite Hurdle on Saturday and now looks to make his seasonal debut over hurdles at Ascot later this month.
The four year olds handler Gary Moore had earmarked Saturday’s Grade Two at Wincanton as the perfect starting point for his stable stars campaign but due to a combination of unsuitable ground and an imperfect scope, Moore decided not to run him.
Goshen was a model of consistency during the jumps season and raced three four times over timber and going on to win his three events by a combined 68 lengths before his dreaded fall at the Cheltenham festival in the Triumph Hurdle being 10 lengths clear facing the last flight.
Since then he has not been seen in the jumps sphere but has raced twice on the flat and with the yard looking to exploit his mark of 88 it did not quite pan out with two lesser runs, which saw him beat easily in both events.
Machine! Goshen destroys his rivals in brilliant style to remain unbeaten over hurdles for @jemoore85 for @gl_racing at @Ascot... pic.twitter.com/eRgVL83Mq3
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) January 18, 2020
(Credit ATR) It now looks as though the Coral Hurdle on November 21st will be his starting point with Moore saying: The ground wasn’t ideal, and everything with the horse is fine – but his scope wasn’t perfect, so we will get that right now.
“It’s nothing serious, and we’ll have a look at the Ascot Hurdle.”
Jamie Moore has been on board for each of his four previous outings over hurdles, but with the injury he picked up earlier on in the year, his brother Josh might get to take advantage and will be looking to get the superstar back to his best.
Moore reports his son to be recovering well and said he might be back in time to ride him at Ascot but it is touch and go at the moment.
He added: “That will be the doctor’s decision, not mine or Jamie’s.
“He’s doing fantastically well, but you’ve got to respect a very serious injury like that.”