The favourite for the big race on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival is on medication after health scare
The powerful Seven Barrows stable is home to some serious pre-Cheltenham jitters this year, as Epatante, the longstanding favourite for the Champion Hurdle, has been coughing. Nicky Henderson announced the news through
Twitter on Thursday evening but stressed that no cause for the coughing could be found and he hopes she can still have a normal preparation for the Festival race in less than a fortnight.
“Epatante has been coughing a few times over the last couple of days for no obvious reason that we can detect,” the trainer said in a statement issued directly from his own Twitter account. “Her blood tests are perfectly normal and she is feeling very well and fresh in herself.”