Horse Racing: Big Zeb prepares for Champion Chase at Leopardstown
Now that the much awaited and anticipated Cheltenham Festival is only a few days away, the racehorses and their connections are warming up their preparations. The famed Cheltenham Festival is one of the most fancied and prestigious horse racing events in
the country. Along with many other champions of the region, the winner of the last year’s edition of the Queen Mother Champion Chase event, Big Zeb is reported to have had a nice preparation trip at the Leopardstown racecourse on Monday morning.
The ten-year old champion racehorse is owned by Patrick Redmond. It was reported that the talented racehorse worked for the upcoming festival on the Flat surface, where he leapt two fences under the famed jockey Barry Geraghty while he goes on to prepare
to claim his crown on the 16 March.
When the trainer of the racehorse, Colm Murphy, was approached by the correspondents to inquire about the development and progress of the Big Zeb during the work out session, he was reported as saying, “Big Zeb popped over two fences and strode out over
a mile and a quarter on the Flat. It all went well and we’re very happy with him.”
The sponsors for the Champion Chase, Sportingbet.com, have registered Big Zeb as a 3-1 favourite for the event. On the other hand, the two time champion Master Minded is leading the market at an odds of 9-4.
Talking about his Cheltenham team, the hard working trainer Murphy revealed that apart from Big Zeb, he will also be sending out his trainee Raise The Beat to contend the Champion Bumper that is backed by Weathersby. The trainer also has the honour of training
Brave Inca, who won the 2006 edition of the Champion Hurdle.
Meanwhile the plans of the colt Quito De La Roque have been revealed to be dependent on the ground. Murphy said that he will be taking part in the RSA Chase and the National Hunt Chase.
Apart from Colm Murphy, Gordon Elliott, Charles Byrnes, Dermot Weld and Enda Bolger also worked their racehorses at Leopardstown on Monday.
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