SHOCK KELSO DEFEAT FOR ZAYNAR

February 18 2010

Zaynar - suffered shock defeat.

Nicky Henderson suffered a second Champion Hurdle blow as his leading light Zaynar was turned over as the 1-14 favourite in the Victor Chandler Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso.

Just 24 hours after last year's third Binocular was ruled out by a muscle problem, Zaynar was displaced as the ante-post favourite following his length defeat by the enormous Quwetwo.

Henderson and his stable jockey Barry Geraghty made the long trip from Lambourn for what should have been a simple schooling session rather than a bruising defeat by a potential chasing star of the future.

A severe overnight frost left conditions glue-like and Geraghty was giving out distress signals well before he squared up to Howard Johnson's Quwetwo at the penultimate flight.

Try as he might, Zaynar could not get on terms and the diminutive grey was left to suffer his first defeat over timber.

Henderson said: "If the meeting had been off after the inspection I was going to go straight to Cheltenham, so it is a good job it was on as he has had a right good blow in ground that wasn't for him.

"This doesn't change anything and we'll stick to the original plan.

"Barry said he was even taking a blow down the back and this isn't March 16.

"Kelso have done a great job getting this on and I have no regrets about coming.

"It is obviously disappointing as you would like to go to Cheltenham with his record intact and it does dent us."

Owner Graham Wylie added of the winner: "We planned to go steady and then pick the pace up and see what happens.

"He has been ready to go since December and has been entered 10 times but the meetings have been abandoned.

"We took him out of the Arkle last week and we will wait until next season to send him novice chasing."

Bookmaker reaction was swift with both Sky Bet and William Hill pushing Zaynar out to 8/1 for the big race at Cheltenham next month.

Solwhit and Go Native are 10/3 joint-favourites for the Cheltenham feature with Sky Bet.

Their spokesman Michael Shinners said: "Zaynar was very disappointing and also had a hard race on heavy ground. The cheek pieces will have to work their magic if he is going to have any chance at Cheltenham."