- Trainer has no immediate explanation for surprise loss
- Bookmakers push horse out to 10-1 for Champion Chase
Same date, same race, same trainer: the parallels with Sprinter Sacre’s shock defeat in the Desert Orchid Chase seven years ago were hard to ignore after Altior could finish only second behind the surprise 20-1 winner Nube Negra on his first start for 10 months here on Sunday.
One difference, though, is that Sprinter Sacre’s problem was swiftly diagnosed as a fibrillating heart – serious, but treatable. The concern after Altior’s defeat, his second in 22 starts over jumps, is that time is catching up with him, which no amount of treatment can cure.
