Arch has good chance of racing again

Hughie Morrison is hopeful that his 2002 Smurfit Champion Hurdle runner-up Marble Arch will be able to return to the racecourse, despite suffering a tendon injury on his chasing debut at Kempton Park yesterday.

The seven-year-old was pulled up by Timmy Murphy approaching the third last fence and now faces an extended spell on the sidelines.

“The diagnosis hasn’t changed, he’s slipped a tendon off his hock. Obviously he’s in some pain but the prognosis is that he will recover with time,” the East Ilsley trainer said today.

“I think the chances of getting him back on the track are pretty good but we won’t bring him back if he’s going to struggle. We might just keep him to the Flat, we could still have some fun with him on the Flat.

“I suppose it would be this time next year until he could run again. If they said three months, then we would run him in three months but looking at him I rather doubt it.

“He’s quite sore and it’s confusing for them because they can’t work out why their leg isn’t working properly and that’s why they kick out.”

Marble Arch had jumped well until suffering his injury, and Morrison added: “He was loving it. He was really relaxed and I’d never felt happier with him.”