No Cheltenham for Kazal Last year's World Hurdle third Kazal will miss the race this season while he recuperates from a wind operation. Eoin Griffin's eight-year-old finished third behind Inglis Drever and Kasbah Bliss last March but has been below par so far this season. However, Griffin discovered he needed to rectify his breathing and hopes that next year he can return to his best. "He's had to have a wind operation. He's already had one and this will be his second one," said Griffin. "It needed to be done. It's not ideal doing it mid-season but nothing can be done about that, he needed it and we had no alternative. "I think it's definitely been affecting him this season so he had to have it done. "It would be a long shot to get him back for the end of the season, there is just a slight possibility he might make Punchestown, but very slight. "He'd have to come back and have no hiccups so it's a very slight possibility."
