Djelo could put himself in the mix for the King George VI Chase with a successful defense of his Sky Bet Peterborough Chase crown at Huntingdon on Sunday.
Seven-year-old Venetia Williams made the perfect start to the new season when he left Pic D’Orhy behind at the Charlie Hall in Wetherby, but now drops back in distance for a race he won emphatically 12 months ago.
Speaking at a stable visit organized by the Jockey Club, Williams said: “It had not been our plan to run him in the Charlie Hall but when I saw the entries the temptation was strong and he had won a similar distance at Newbury last season in the Denman Chase.
“When I went to Newbury the plan had been to run the Game Spirit. It was just a bit of opportunism that made me put him in that race as well. I think the same probably applied to the Charlie Hall.”
“We’re definitely taking a step back in the journey in the Peterborough Chase. Last year it was a very wet day and we all got soaked, and I suspect the ground will be faster this year.”
Williams knows exactly what it takes to win Kempton’s Boxing Day showpiece after beating Teeton Mill in 1998, but she is keen to take it “race by race” with the sponsor’s 4-6 Peterborough Chase favourite.
Williams added: “He could still go for the King George but having won it so well last year it would be a mistake to leave it out this year. He does have an entry in the King George but it will be step by step and it will all depend on how Sunday goes.”
“You hope there is a grade one in him. Any horse that has won a number of grade twos, like him, you always hope that his turn will be at the top of the rankings. The first on his horizon is the King George, but we will take it race by race.”
“You don’t beat the track or the tour, you beat the other horses and it just depends on who comes.
“Of course the other horses in it would have had more time between their races, and you wouldn’t want to do it too often, but it would be a mistake to forfeit a race he won so well last year and concentrate purely on the King George.”
The King George is also an option for L’Homme Presse, who has been out of action since competing in the Ascot Chase last February and returns at Cheltenham in the Southam Handicap Chase next week.
“He’s got to go to Cheltenham next Friday for the three and a quarter mile handicap pursuit there. That would be a quick turnaround for him to run in the King George,” Williams explained.
“Remember, as a novice fighter he did his first two races in fifteen days, and he hasn’t raced much, but the first is Cheltenham.
“The King George is always a competitive race so we’ll see. Hopefully he’ll do well at Cheltenham and move on. He seems to be doing as well as you can hope for so I’m looking forward to driving him.”
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