Captain skips Punchestown Cheltenham hopeful Captain Cee Bee missed today´s intended engagement at Punchestown after trainer Edward Harty withdrew his charge following the opening race at the Co Kildare track. Snow fell as the 15 runners made their way around in the opening three-mile handicap hurdle and with the earlier rain, Harty decided to not risk his stable star. "I walked the track about an hour before the first race and it was perfect fresh ground but having watched the first race with the rain and snow that fell I felt he would have hated the ground and could have lost his confidence or done something stupid." As for where we will now see the seven-year-old Harty is leaving his options opening. "He is in the Deloitte next Sunday but it is two-and-a-quarter miles and it would be difficult to see the ground changing in that time. There is a nice race in Dundalk over a mile-and-a-half on the 29th of February and that would be an option but I will speak to the owners first," concluded the trainer.
