Connections of Binocular will have to go back to the drawing board after the abandonment of Saturday’s card at Sandown due to frost.
The 2010 Champion Hurdle winner had been set to take in the Contenders Hurdle as part of his preparation for next month’s Cheltenham Festival, a Listed prize he had secured for the past two seasons.
But with the meeting beaten by Britain’s cold snap, Nicky Henderson will have to find his classy hurdler an alternative lead-up race in the next week or two.
The Red Mills Hurdle at Gowran Park in Ireland, the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton and the Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso are all potential destinations.
“As it stands at the moment, I don’t know where he’ll run,” owner JP McManus’ racing manager Frank Berry said.
“We’re going to have to wait and see what happens with the weather. We have a few options, but we can’t say for definite which way he’s going yet.”
PA AAP TURF
