Altior a major doubt after reporting lame
ALTIOR is a huge doubt for the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Wednesday after being reported lame yesterday. Trainer Nicky Henderson said he and his staff would pull out all the stops to try to get the two-time winner of the race to Cheltenham. Altior’s clash with Chacun Pour Soi and Defi Du Seuil has been one of the most anticipated contests of the four-day Festival. Henderson said: ‘Unfortunately Altior is lame due to an old splint that has been dormant. It’s never bothered him before and typically it rears its ugly head now. We are doing all we can. We have two days but it’s an uphill battle.’ Altior’s season has been full of frustration. He was beaten by Cyrname at Ascot in November to end a 19-race winning sequence. An abscess then prevented him running over Christmas and he did not reappear until last week’s victory at Newbury. Henderson, who is chasing his eighth Champion Hurdle tomorrow, has four of the 17 runners in the first-day feature, headed by 3-1 favourite Epatante and 5-1 shot Pentland Hills. And Henderson-trained Shishkin is favourite for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle after trainer Gordon Elliott decided not to switch Envoi Allen to the race after walking the course. He considered a move from the long-term target — Wednesday’s Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle — to the shorter race if he considered the ground too soft. Elliott said yesterday: ‘If the ground had turned up heavy or soft to heavy, we would have had to consider the Supreme. But I think it will be beautiful ground so we’re going to go with our original plan.’