RACING:THE WEEKEND weather forecast may be dark and wet, but champion chaser Big Zeb is set to provide some welcome sparks when he returns to action in tomorrow's Fortria Chase at Navan.
Colm Murphy’s star, who won this Grade Two last year on route to Cheltenham festival glory, faces an old rival in Golden Silver as well as the Gold Cup hopeful Joncol.
Both are Grade One winners, but when his jumping is good Big Zeb is a very difficult chaser to get the better of at two miles.
Testing ground could also see Aitmatov pull off back-to-back victories in the Grade Two Lismullen Hurdle, where he also holds the advantage of race fitness against Mourad, Jumbo Rio and Oscar Dan Dan.
The former Coral Cup winner Ninetieth Minute goes in the Beginners Chase, but Saludos could be hard to beat in this now that he is racing in his favoured left-handed direction. In the circumstances his chasing debut at Punchestown behind Noble Prince wasn’t a bad effort.
