DONALD McCAIN has not given up hope of running Peddlers Cross before the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham next month.

The Cheshire-based trainer ruled his unbeaten six-year-old out of his weekend’s engagements after he coughed on Wednesday morning.

The Fighting Fifth Hurdle winner missed his Festival prep race at Haydock last month after the meeting was abandoned. He had been rerouted to run at either Ffos Las or Sandown tomorrow, but his setback has meant McCain is searching for options before the Champion Hurdle, for which Peddlers Cross is an 11-2 cacne with Stan James, Boylesports and Paddy Power.

Peddlers Cross may run in either Kelso’s Morebattle Hurdle or the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton later this month. McCain said: “He’s fine this morning and has been for a walk.

“He just gave a little cough on Wednesday morning and it was a case of I either needed to gallop him or give him a couple of quiet days.

“I didn’t want to gallop him and if I didn’t gallop him he couldn’t run this weekend. It’s as simple as that.

“There are the races at Kelso and Wincanton that we were looking at for Overturn, but Peddlers Cross could conceivably run in one of those.

“I know I can take him straight to Cheltenham if I needed to, but I would definitely prefer to run him.

“I like running horses and I like horses to go racing and I think part of the problem is that because Haydock was off, he’s been grafting for a long time without going racing.”