Ben Pauling (23 February 2026): "His whole season was geared to getting him ready for the King George - it was a never a plan to return in the autumn as he had his injury and you never know how they are going to react to having had an injury. It was a steady start and we didn’t just drop the handbrake and let him go flat out. We brought him back slowly and we were nervous that he wasn’t fit enough for Haydock but he did it nicely. Obviously, the King George was an exceptional day - out of the back of the King George, Harry and I had discussed it for a long time that if we were lucky enough to run well in the King George that we would look at a Gold Cup. That is what we have done and he has come out of the King George very well - actually better than I expected. If I had wanted to, we could have put him in a Denman Chase or something but I don’t think that we needed to. We know him very well and when he is right and what needs to done to have him absolutely cherry ripe. Having a horse of his calibre in the form he is in, touch wood, at the moment going to the Gold Cup is an exceptionally exciting thing for me, for Sophie and the whole team and doing it for a man like Harry who is a bit of a National Treasure. We have had a relationship for the past seven or eight years and it has gone very well and it is a special thing for all of us - I think getting him there in the form he is in is going to give us one helluva day and a chance to win the big one. I personally think the Gold Cup will be a much better test for him than the King George. He won the Kauto Star and he obviously likes Kempton but I think this horse likes any track. He is very uncomplicated, goes through his races sweetly and jumps very well and that is the key to these top three-mile chases. You have to be able to jump and travel and if you are missing fences it is going to be hard work. People who ask the tricky question and say Ben he got collared over three miles in the Albert Bartlett but if you look back at that race he was ridden very positively and was out on his own for three miles. He kicked for home early off and bundled the last. I firmly believe this horse will stay and will be more effective over the Gold Cup trip than he would be over a sharp three miles at Kempton. From the back of three out I honestly thought, as it was panning out, that he would go and win the King George by three or four lengths comfortably, but they didn’t just gain on us but he was behind again. It was only his tenacity and will to win that got him there. I’m not deluded to think that the performances he has put up to date is good enough to win a Gold Cup traditionally, and you can make a case for seven or eight horses in the race. There isn’t a standout but after 4.00pm in the afternoon on March 13 you can bet there will be a standout as something is going to win the race. I jolly well hope it is us but if it is not it is not. If he is in the best form we can have him, then we can do more. He had to step forward 15lb to win the King George and he did and if he can improve again, we can be competitive. Realistically, you have to be rated 175 to win a Gold Cup so we are 7lb short."
Ben Pauling (07 October 2025): "The Jukebox Man is back in looking great and we are doing as much with him as we can. The aim is to run him in the Paddy Power or the 1965 Chase but the big aim is to get him spot on for the King George. We will see how we are fitness-wise, and if he is not ready, he won’t run, and we will find something else for him in prep for the King George. He is in good form, and he is one of the most exciting horses in the yard. He has just got that bit of extra."
Ben Pauling (10 October 2024): "He was obviously a very good novice last season and unlucky not to win a couple of Grade 1s. I think he could very much be a top-drawer novice chaser this season. He is in particular good form, and he has done extremely well this summer. He will start over two and a half miles over fences, and we will see where we go and go back over three miles, but he doesn’t need that early doors. There are nice Grade 2s at the Coral Gold Cup meeting at Newbury, the Dipper Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day or I could go for the Kauto Star at Kempton. It will be a case of getting his first run under his belt and go from there really."
