IMPERIAL CALL will have his final outing before defending his Cheltenham Gold Cup crown in the Red Mills Trial Chase at Gowran Park on Saturday, his trainer Fergie Sutherland said yesterday.
The eight year old is without a win in his two starts this season since beating Rough Quest at the Festival last March.
He began his 1996-97 campaign by falling when clear at the last fence of the Punchestown Chase in December and ran a lacklustre race when third to Danoli in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, in which he reportedly struck into himself, at the beginning of the month.
"He is fine and you can take it that he'll run," said Sutherland yesterday. "He has had a little infection in his hind leg from when he struck into himself in the Hennessy and at the moment I am waiting for the results of his test.
"As we were so short of time I couldn't give him a shot of penicillin but the infection wouldn't go away. But I want to run him and I am sure he will be all right."
Imperial Call is William Hill's 7 to 2 favourite to become the first horse since L'Escargot in 1971 to win successive Cheltenham Gold Cups.
Meanwhile, stormy weather yesterday caused Charlie Brooks to change running plans for Sunny Bay, jeopardising Master Oats's intended return from a year's layoff.
Brooks' has decided to pull Suny Bay out of Sunday's Ericsson GSM Grand National Trial Handicap Chase at Punchestown, in favour of a tilt at the Greenalls Grand National Trial at Haydock six days later.
Brooks's decision has had a knock on effect on Lambourn neighbour Kim Bailey whose Master Oats, pencilled in for a first run for 12 months in the same Punchestown contest, was due to travel with Sunny Bay, sharing the cost.
"Now that Charlie's not going we have a transport problem," the trainer explained.
. Coome Hill has joined the front of Ladbrokes' ante post market for the Martell Grand National on Saturday April 5th, for which the weights were unveiled yesterday.
The Walter Dennis trained Hennessy Gold Cup winner, a faller at the second in the Agfa Diamond Chase at, Sandown a week last Saturday, is now 14 to 1 co favourite from 16, to 1 for the Aintree chase despite a warning from the eight year old's trainer that his principal spring objective is the Tote Gold Cup at Cheltenham on March 13th. The horse is currently set to carry 10st 6lb.
. Hong Kong Jockey Club officials yesterday insisted that major races will not be threatened by an equine virus which has hit the colony. Wilson Cheng, the club's information officer, said that 19 horses from seven stables were showing signs of "mildly elevated temperatures".
He added that the temperatures were subsiding and the horses concerned are showing no other signs of clinical illness and will be back in work within a few days.
