Setback rules Banjo out for season

Mister Banjo, who was due to make his eagerly awaited debut over fences at Cheltenham tomorrow, has had a setback and will not run again this season.

His trainer Paul Nicholls had earmarked the Ian Williams Owners Novices` Chase for the gelding, but he said this morning: 'He schooled yesterday morning but then we found he was a bit sore.

'It is disappointing, but fortunately it is not a bad injury, it is just a niggling problem but he is only five so we don`t want to take any chances with him and just want to be careful and we will put him away until next season.'

Nicholls went on: 'His owner John Hales has had a lot of good horses and he was very understanding, he knows that these things happen in racing.

'It is like soccer really, if you have a big squad you are always going to have one or two with a problem and you just have to live with it.'

The Royal & SunAlliance Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March had been the long-term aim and Nicholls went on: 'Mister Banjo is a tremendous prospect and he will be back, he has not got to stand in his box or anything like that, he will be able to have light exercise and we will have him ready for next season.'

Nicholls had better news of the stable`s 1999 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner See More Business who took a horrible fall in the Tote John Hughes Rehearsal Chase at Chepstow on Saturday.

The 11-year-old lay on the ground for several minutes and the worst was feared but he eventually got to his feet and there were loud cheers of relief from racegoers.

His Ditcheat trainer added: 'He is fine and back cantering and he will run again, but we don`t know where yet, we will have to see.'-PA