Nicholls yard on mend after virus

The champion trainer’s upbeat assessment is welcome news to supporters of Big Buck’s who is preparing for a fourth Ladbrokes World Hurdle, and also Kauto Star who will bid to land a third Cheltenham Gold Cup.

After announcing last week his Betfair Hurdle winner and Champion Hurdle contender Zarkandar was one of the key members of the team to be suffering, Nicholls reports the five-year-old to be firmly back in training now.

“Obviously we’ve had a few little problems and my job is to ensure it’s not being spread,” he said.

“It just seemed to have affected the younger horses – the main ones are okay.

“Zarkandar came back with a cough after Newbury and I banged him full of antibiotics for six days, he had a couple of days walking then cantering but he worked this morning and everything was normal,” he said.

“When you have a lot of horses in training you are always going to have a few coughs and splutters, and I’m sure we’re no different to anyone else.”

Nicholls has already outlined the Cheltenham targets for his best-known horses and he was able to fill in a few gaps at the unveiling of the handicap weights yesterday.

He said: “Noland will run in the JLT Specialty Handicap Chase and Crack Away Jack, who came back quite nicely at Ascot the other day, will go for the Byrne Group Plate.

“Cristal Bonus goes for the Jewson and Toubab will go for the Grand Annual.”

He also insisted that the inclusion of complete unknown Ulck Du Lin in the Fred Winter Juvenile Handicap Hurdle is “not a plot”.

While most members of the his stable are familiar names, Ulck Du Lin was the only horse in the four-year-old handicap not to have had a hurdle run in Britain or Ireland so far.

“It’s not a plot,” said Nicholls. “He’s won two hurdles and a chase and he’s a big horse who has worked nicely and went well in a racecourse gallop.

“We thought if we ran him in England and he won he’d go up to 140, so we kept him back for the Fred Winter. He could prove to be well-in at the weights.”

Philip Hobbs has admitted defeat in the race to get Fingal Bay to the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle after the unbeaten six-year-old suffered a minor setback last week and while the injury is only minor, it has come at the wrong time of the season.

“Thankfully, it is not a serious problem which is the silver lining as we’ll have him for Aintree and Punchestown. He just needs another week which we haven’t got,” said Hobbs.

The trainer expects the stronger pace of the JCB Triumph Hurdle to suit Sadler’s Risk after former Mark Johnston inmate met with his first defeat over timber in the Adonis Hurdle at Kempton on Saturday when second to Baby Mix.

Having been nearly favourite for the juvenile championship, he is now out to 9-1, but Hobbs was not in the least bit disappointed with his display.

“He’s come out of the race in great form and at the moment I couldn’t be happier with him,” said Hobbs.

Frankel came through his first gallop of 2012 unscathed after a gentle piece of work at Newmarket.

Unbeaten in nine starts to date, Sir Henry Cecil’s wonder-horse dominated the 2011 Flat season with a string of phenomenal performances, including a breathtaking display in the 2000 Guineas.

He will reappear in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on May 19.

Soft ground could tempt Victor Dartnall to run Giles Cross in the John Smith’s Grand National at Aintree rather than the Irish equivalent after his stable star won Haydock’s National trial.