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Trainer Jamie Osborne reckons his veteran stayer Geordieland will be ready to line up in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot on June 16 for the fourth time following his long absence due to injury.
Photo by Racing and Sports
The 10-year-old finished second twice to Yeats in the race in 2007 and 2008 but has raced just once since finishing third behind the same horse in 2009 after suffering an injury later that year.
"It's been a fair journey through the last few months trying to get him ready,” Osborne said.
"He got a leg in the 2009 Doncaster Cup and we were probably a month away from running in last year's Gold Cup and he got injured again.
"I must admit, in the past few months there have been moments when I've thought he's not going to get there, but right now, most of the work is in the bank and I'd say we're long odds-on to get there.
"There has always been this element with him where we think his best performance comes when he's fresh.
“We may be taking that to the extreme when he hasn't run for two years but we're trying to leave no stone unturned.
"He's on target to get there every bit as fit, if not fitter, than he was when he won the Henry II two years ago."
Geordieland has won seven of his 35 starts, earning in excess of £500,000 in prize-money.
He visited Australia in 2006 when he finished 18th in the Melbourne Cup.