SOLWHIT looks increasingly unlikely to line up in the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival next Tuesday.
Trainer Charles Byrnes rated his chances as “less than 50-50” after he scoped dirty on Monday morning.
Solwhit is currently a best-priced 6-1 second favourite behind Go Native for the two-mile championship.
Byrnes said: “Solwhit coughed four or five times today. He’d need to stop coughing by Thursday to have any chance of running. We’ll see how the next few days go, but I’m not optimistic. I have to say his chances of travelling are less than 50-50 at this stage.”
