MARCUS TOWNEND

FESTIVAL GUIDE

ALTIOR SCARE FOR HENDERSON

TRAINER Nicky Henderson has insisted he remains confident Altior will run in tomorrow’s Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase despite being lame yesterday. The odds-on favourite was being treated after pus was detected in the hoof of his near-foreleg. Henderson said: ‘Our vet and farrier are working very hard and are more than hopeful that he will be able to canter tomorrow and be clear to race.’ Altior is due to clash with Douvan after trainer Willie Mullins and owner Rich Ricci decided to run the 2016 Arkle Novices’ Chase winner in the two-mile race rather than the longer Ryanair Chase on Thursday, a move they had strongly hinted at on Sunday.

RAIN’S A THREAT TO MIGHT BITE

THE arduous conditions — with significant rain turning the going to heavy (soft in places) — are threatening Might Bite’s position as ante-post favourite for the Gold Cup. It is a position he may not occupy come Friday, with Coral predicting last year’s third, Native River, will end up starting favourite. Spokesman David Stevens said: ‘If we get a soft ground Gold Cup, there is every chance Native River will start favourite. That’s not because Might Bite might not like the ground but Native River, a Welsh National winner with stamina to spare, is proven in it.’

COO CAN BE A BIG STAR FOR LIZZIE

THIS time last year the face of the Festival was Lizzie Kelly, whose ride on Tea For Two was the first for a female jockey in the Gold Cup for 33 years. This year the limelight has shone on colleague Bryony Frost but Kelly says she has relished slipping into the meeting quietly. She rides Tea For Two in the Gold Cup again, hoping to have better luck than the second-fence fall last year. But the best of her three Festival rides is Coo Star Sivola, favourite for today’s Ultima Handicap Chase.