Favour And Fortune will be given Champion Bumper option

Alan King will take a patient approach with Favour And Fortune, who remained unbeaten after taking a Warwick bumper with ease on Saturday.

The five-year-old Soldier Of Fortune gelding followed up his impressive Southwell debut success with a seven-and-a-half-length defeat of Alright Dai and could potentially head to the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.

Running in the colours of the late Trevor Hemmings, he looked a smart performer under Tom Bellamy and King will consider him for the big National Hunt Flat race on March 15.

“Favour and Fortune will have an entry at Cheltenham and if he didn’t go there, he’d go to Aintree,” said King.

“He is a horse we like a lot. He ran well at Warwick. He is festival bound, but we don’t know where. We will definitely put him in the Champion Bumper.”

Meanwhile, Messire Des Obeaux, who rolled back the years when also scoring at Warwick in a two-and-a-half-mile handicap chase on the same card, has taken his race well.

The 11-year-old, making his first start for 385 days, had a neck to spare over Knight In Dubai, staying on strongly in the closing stages.

King will be in no rush with him, however. He said: “Messire Des Obeaux will tell me when he’s ready.

“He always takes a wee bit of time to get over a run, so I will just see what there is. Obviously, he needs the weather to change as well. The ground has gone for the minute.

“It was a nice race to win the other day, so there is no panic. Even in his younger days, he always took a few weeks to get over his runs. He puts a lot into it.”

Speaking at Hereford on Wednesday afternoon, King reported Arkle Trophy winner Edwardstone has recovered from a minor setback and is still well on course for the Queen Mother Champion Chase, for which he remains Coral’s 13-8 joint-favourite with Energumene for the March 15 Cheltenham feature.

“Edwardstone is all good,” said King. “He will go back into strong work next week.”

Edwardstone, winner of six of his 11 starts over fences, just failed to catch Editeur Du Gite in the rescheduled Clarence House Chase at Cheltenham last month, but King feels that he may have been suffering from a bruised foot during that race.

He added: “He was very lame the next morning, so whether he was feeling it even then. I thought after the last he’d go away and win.

“I was surprised, because usually he finishes a race so well. Look, we’ll see, but he’s fine again anyway.”