Irish hope Rince Rí looks set to miss next month's Cheltenham Festival after it was revealed that he has been operated on for colic. The nine-year old has been in splendid form recently, winning the Pillar Property Chase at Cheltenham in January and coming a respectable third behind Alexander Banquet and Behrajan in the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Leopardstown earlier this month.
Trainer Ted Walsh says it's too early to know how long Rince Rí will be out of action but it's doubtful the horse will have recovered in time for Cheltenham: "Rince Rí is out of commission. He got a colic which required surgery yesterday evening. Everything went well but we won't know for a couple of weeks. It's disappointing but that's the way it is – he got a colic and it required surgery," he said.
Filed by Tom Grealis
