‘We’re in the World Cup’ – Harry Redknapp eyes prestigious £350,000 race after Jukebox Man wins King George VI Chase

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Harry Redknapp is targeting the Cheltenham Gold Cup after his Boxing Day victory at Kempton.His horse Jukebox Man won the King George VI Chase on Friday ahead of Banbridge and Gaelic Warrior.PARedknapp is eyeing the Cheltenham Gold Cup after winning the King George VI Chase[/caption]In doing so, the seven-year-old scooped £142,375 in prize money for Redknapp.However, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager is now eyeing over double that amount at the Cheltenham Festival in March.Reflecting on the festive victory, Redknapp told talkSPORT Breakfast: “It was amazing. I went there hoping that we had a chance, but you looked at the race. Willie Mullins had two in the race, Nicky Henderson was there, it was full of quality. I didn’t even know we’d won.“It went past the post and everyone started jumping on me and I couldn’t see from where I was whether we’d got up or not. I thought it was second or third. “I looked at the replay and I thought, oh, my God, I think he’s actually won. We had to wait for the photo to come through. That took a couple of minutes, but the feeling was amazing.”“He jumped so well all the way around and the only sort of iffy jump was the last. He didn’t quite land right. He made it on the wrong stride, but then he came back again.“Ben Jones got off him and said he won despite the ground. He really could have done with a lot more cut in the ground.“So all the signs were great, but to win the King George it was a dream. I’ve been buzzing ever since.”Redknapp is now hopeful Jukebox Man can compete in the ‘World Cup’ of horse racing at the Cheltenham Festival.The latest edition of the Gold Cup is scheduled to take place on the final day of the meeting on March 13.PABen Jones rode Jukebox Man to glory at Kempton on Boxing Day to scoop £142,375[/caption]This year’s race saw the winner Inothewayurthinkin clinch £350,000 for owner JP McManus from the £625,000 prize pot.Asked about the race, Redknapp added: “Well, that’s the target. That’s the dream.“Someone said the other day, you’ve just won the Champions League and now we’re going into the World Cup for the Gold Cup.“That is the quality of the race again. We certainly go there with a chance. So I’m looking forward to that in March.”However, he admits not every race is as lucrative as the Gold Cup or the King George.The 78-year-old admitted: “I love the racing. It’s my big passion. I’ve got a lot of horses and you dream about always having a good horse.PARedknapp is targeting the ‘World Cup’ of horse racing at March’s Cheltenham Festival[/caption]“I was lucky to go to Cheltenham and have a winner at the festival with Shake ‘em up Harry two years ago.“Now Jukebox Man has taken me to the races I’ve always dreamed of going to. So it’s fantastic.“The only trouble was, I took my wife racing the other day. She never goes and she thinks every race meeting or every race is like that.“She doesn’t realise I’m normally running for races on a Tuesday, Wednesday night somewhere for about £2,000. Even if you win, you lose money because you pay all your expenses.”Jukebox Man now has four wins from four chase runs, earning almost £270,000 in the process.Overall, the Ben Pauling-trained horse has won seven of its 11 runs, including each of the last four starts.