Heart issue sees change of plan for Bright Forecast Ben Pauling’s star youngster Bright Forecast will not run until the new year after he was found to be suffering from a fibrillating heart. Successful on his first two starts over hurdles last season, the five-year-old rounded off his campaign with an excellent effort to finish third in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March. Pauling was looking forward to seeing his charge embark on a career over fences this term, but this recent setback could lead to a change of plan. “Bright Forecast did a piece of work which led to us doing some tests on him. The tests showed that he had a fibrillating heart,” confirmed the Gloucestershire-based trainer. “He subsequently went to Rossdales Equine Hospital in Newmarket where, under the supervision of Celia Marr (a specialist in equine internal medicine), had this issue corrected and his heart is now back in rhythm. “He has been based at Henrietta Knight’s since then and is doing very well. He is walking and trotting and should return to training in the next few weeks. “The plan with him had been to go over fences this season, but there is a chance now that we will stay over hurdles. He’s only five and has a big future ahead of him, so we are keen to give him all the time he needs and not rush him back.”
