Inca Out For Season

Brave Inca, winner of the 2006 Champion Hurdle, has been ruled out of the upcoming National Hunt season with a tendon injury.

However, trainer Colm Murphy hopes the nine-year-old, successful in nine Grade One races to date, will make a full recovery to resume his racing career in the future.

'The results of a scan showed there was some damage to his near-fore tendon,' explained the County Wexford-based handler.

'It's something that he should make a 100% recovery from but it rules him out for the year.

'He'll have a controlled programme at the moment, going on the horse walker and so forth. It will be a case of just restricting him this year. At that level he would have to be 100% to be competitive.

'He's incredible ? he's something else. He owes no-one nothing and we owe him everything.

'Hindsight's a wonderful thing and if I had the time again I wouldn't have run him at Punchestown in April. It had been such a long, hard season.

'I have no doubt in my mind he will get three miles and I still believe he can be very competitive at two,' Murphy told At The Races.

'I think we just went to the well one too many times.'

(C) PA Sport