Former RSA Chase winner O'Faolains Boy is to make a quick return to action after being given the go-ahead to contest the bet365 Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury on Saturday.
Former RSA Chase winner O'Faolains Boy is to make a quick return to action after being given the go-ahead to contest the bet365 Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury on Saturday.
Rebecca Curtis will turn the eight-year-old out in the Grade Two event instead of heading to the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle on the same afternoon, just seven days after he was pulled up on his first start since April 2014 in the Stella Artois 1965 Chase at Ascot.
The Newport handler said: "He is a funny horse and he is a scratchy mover. The ground at Ascot had bits of good in it and was not as soft as it was advertised. With it being his first run back he just felt it a bit more. He is absolutely fine. The vet has checked him over and he couldn't find any issues."
Curtis added: "We are looking at going to Newbury as the ground will suit him better as it is soft, heavy in places and those are the conditions he needs to be targeted at, while a run over hurdles will just sharpen him up."