Nicholls bids to solve Master puzzle
Dual Champion Chase winner Master Minded will miss out on a bid for a repeat win in the Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown on Saturday week as Paul Nicholls works to discover the reason for his hanging right-handed.
The prolific six-year-old displayed the uncharacteristic trait on his seasonal bow at Cheltenham when he continually lugged out to his right before weakening back to third behind Well Chief.
The pair had been due to clash again on December 5, but with Master Minded due to have a bone scan on Thursday the rematch has been put on hold.
Nicholls said: “There is something niggling him and we need to get the bottom of it.
“He will go for a bone scan in Newmarket on Thursday to see if that shows up anything and we will know more after that.
“We want to get him right for the spring and there is no point going on until we find out what is wrong.
“If you saw him this morning he looks 100% but it is just when he starts cantering that he starts hanging.
“There is no great rush with him. We want to win the Champion Chase and there is plenty of time before that and it wouldn’t matter if we have to wait for the Game Spirit at Newbury for his next run.”
Master Minded is as big as 5-2 with Coral to land the Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase for the third time next March.
Big Zeb has replaced Master Minded at the head of the betting on the Tingle Creek with Betfair and his trainer Colm Murphy expressed his sympathy for connections.
“Obviously it’s a big blow to them and I can only imagine what they are thinking at the moment,” he said.
“He certainly wasn’t the real Master Minded we all know the last day. We all know how good he is as we all respect and fear him when he’s at his best.
“The Tingle Creek is still going to be top notch. I just hope everything goes well with our horse and we get there.”
Tingle Creek Chase – Betfair market: 6-4 Big Zeb, 5-2 Well Chief, 7-2 Twist Magic, 9-2 Forpadydeplasterer, 10-1 Mahogany Blaze, 14-1 Kalahari King, 16-1 Master Minded.
