Murphy still big on Zeb chance
The trainer’s disappointment at Big Zeb’s surprise defeat by Golden Silver in the Tied Cottage Chase at Punchestown two weeks ago has been tempered with the overall delight at how the preparation for the Festival has been going.
“He’s very good and came out of the race really well,” Murphy told At The Races. “We couldn’t have been happier with him. We were disappointed with the result, but he ran a blinder. Everything has gone to plan and it’s all systems go for Cheltenham.
“We’ve probably got a better run with him this year. Things went a little bit haywire last year after Sandown. He had a bone problem and he had a twitch of arthritis, but we’ve been lucky and able to keep on top of that.
“Things have gone really well with him and if we could have changed the result the last day everything would have gone to plan. We weren’t disappointed the way he ran so in that sense we couldn’t be happier.”
