It’ll be the Mother of all battles

CONTRARY to reports on Sunday, Douvan will take his chance in tomorrow’s Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase.

A dual Fetsival-winner but off the track since flopping in this race last year, Douvan will be ridden by Ruby Walsh with Paul Townend on board stable-companion Min, an impressive winner of grade 2 event at the Dublin Racing Festival last month.

But the eagerlyanticipated clash between the Willie Mullins-trained pair and odds-on favourite Altior is not certain to go ahead, following news yesterday that Nicky Henderson and his team face a race against time to have their charge ready.

Altior was lame on his near fore yesterday morning. And a poultice was applied as part of the treatment which, hopefully, will enable him bid to follow-up last year’s spectacular Arkle victory.

The injury, is, reportedly, similar to the setback suffered by Harzand before his Epsom Derby success.

If Altior gets the go-ahead to run tomorrow, nine horses will face the starter, a field which will also include reigning two-mile champion Special Tiara, trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden again by Noel Fehily, and his stable-companion Ordinary World, third to Altior in the Arkle last year.

The field for the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase is : Altior (Nico de Boinville), Ar Mad (Joshua Moore), Charbel (David Bass), Douvan (Ruby Walsh), God’s Own (Paddy Brennan), Min (Paul Townend), Ordinary

World (Davy Russell), Profitologue (Sam Twiston-davies) and Special Tiara (Noel Fehily).