Weird Al, who suffered his first defeat over fences when disappointing in the Hennessy Gold Cup, will have his chance to put that run behind him in the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup after connections chose the Festival showpiece contest over the Ryanair Chase.
Jason Maguire will ride the Ian Williams-trained horse, who has undergone a wind operation since finishing a well-beaten eighth at Newbury.
"We had a team meeting and felt the Gold Cup was the opportunity we would like to take, particularly with the likelihood of getting better ground on Friday," said Williams today.
Weird Al, currently a best-priced 33/1 (William Hill) for the Gold Cup, was one of last season's leading novice chasers and prime contender for the RSA Chase until ruled out by injury.
He returned to action this season to dead-heat with subsequent Paddy Power Gold Cup winner Little Josh at Carlisle. Weird Al then started second favourite for the Hennessy but later underwent surgery to correct partial paralysis of his larynx.
"We thought he had a decent chance in the Hennessy and he was disappointing that day for reasons that have been well documented since," said Williams. "We'd like to have run him in the build up but we haven't been in a position to.
"He's run very well fresh before. He will need to up his game enormously, but he was very progressive last season. His first race of the season was very good.
"We didn't get the run we expected when we really wanted to test his ability. He's had a wind op since then. It's not been ideal that we haven't been able to run him but having weighed up the pros and cons we decided we'd like have a go at the Gold Cup."
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