Tony Stafford, racing manager to Punjabi’s owner Raymond Tooth, revealed today that tomorrow's race at Kempton may not be the ideal prep for the reigning Champion hurdler.
In hislatest blog on www.wbxtriplecrown.com he says: “One worry for Nicky Henderson is that Punjabi will have less time than last year, when he was only third at Wincanton, to recover from these exertions. Clearly, though, the trainer wanted to hone his horse to the sort of peak fitness needed to win at the top level.”
Tony also takes time to look at Binocular and Zaynar who both lined up for their Cheltenham trial in the last month.
“Binocular’s unspectacular win over Dee Ee Williams and Wednesday’s runaway Ludlow winner Marodima was the precursor to discovery of a season-ending muscle problem, while Zaynar’s defeat may in time prove to be almost as much a question of shock winner Quwetwo’s hitherto hidden ability as the desperately heavy ground. In short, there’s always the chance of a bloody nose for even the best horses.”
Iain Turner, PR and Sponsorship Manager for World Bet Exchange said, “I am delighted that Tony Stafford is continuing his blog on www.wbxtriplecrown.com.
"With less than three weeks until the Champion Hurdle it will be fascinating to see how Punjabi gets on in his trial for a repeat victory. He is returning to the scene of his fall last year which cost connections £1 million and hopefully for all connections he doesn’t fall tomorrow.
"Go Native has been very strong in WBX.COM’s Cheltenham market in recent weeks and he is almost vying for favouritism alongside Solwhit. Solwhit however doesn’t stand to win £1 million from WBX.COM if he was to win the race!”
