Amy Murphy planning to give Kalashnikov New Year's Day target at Cheltenham

The 888 Sport Handicap Chase at Cheltenham on January 1 has emerged as the likely target for Kalashnikov, who lost little in defeat when touched off at Newbury last month.

Trained in Newmarket by Amy Murphy for her father Paul, the classy six-year-old looked set to record his eighth victory, but was reeled in late by the fast-finishing Oldgrangewood.

Kalashnikov received a 6lb rise in the ratings following that run and Murphy was not overly tempted to run her stable star in Saturday's Caspian Caviar Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

Instead, she will aim him at the track's 2m4½f Grade 3 on New Year's Day, which is worth £70,000.

"He'll go somewhere over Christmas or around the new year," she said. "The Caspian Caviar Gold Cup just came a bit soon for him. We'll find him something, probably a race at Cheltenham on New Year's Day.

"He's in great form and I could have run him on Saturday, but I think it's not the right thing to do by him so early in the season. There's a long rest of the campaign with big races in the spring."

A son of the high-class Kalanisi, Kalashnikov won last year's Betfair Hurdle at Newbury and enjoyed a top-tier success in Aintree's Manifesto Novices' Chase in April.

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