Alan King feels his Reynoldstown Chase winner Invictus has more “gears” than normally associated with a three-mile (4800m) chaser.
The six-year-old looked to have a huge future when winning his first two starts over fences at Hereford and Plumpton, but then disappointed at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day.
However, King reported valid excuses for that display and he set himself up for a tilt at the RSA Chase with an authoritative beating of Bobs Worth in the Grade Two event at Ascot.
Due to his win at Plumpton his connections would benefit from a STG60,000 ($A88,928) bonus were he to win at the Festival.
“I have loved Invictus from day one, and we put a line through his Dipper Chase disappointment at Cheltenham’s New Year meeting as he never travelled that day and came back very sore, having lost a shoe early on,” King told www.alankingracing.co.uk.
“Invictus is a brilliant jumper and you can see 10 strides before he gets to a fence where he is going. He has got more gears than you normally associate with a three-miler and is definitely not slow, and while Grands Crus will be the one we all have to beat if he goes for the RSA, our fellow has earned the right to his place in the field.
“We saw the real Invictus again at Ascot, and he does seem to enjoy that good ground. We knew that the Dipper was not him as he was so professional at Plumpton, and he has bounced back in style.”
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