Walsh to ride Zarkandar in Betfair Hurdle

RUBY WALSH will ride ante-post favourite Zarkandar in Saturday's Betfair Hurdle at Newbury after a dramatic series of events on Monday.

The transfer of the Scilly Isles Novices' Chase to Newbury's meeting means that due to the race's Grade 1 status, Walsh is free to ride on the card and trainer Paul Nicholls  subsequently shuffled around his riding arrangements for the valuable handicap hurdle.

Nicholls tweeted: "After discussing with owners Ruby now switches to Zarkandar and Daryl Jacob rides Empire Levant at Newbury on Saturday."

Having picked up a three-day ban at Cheltenham on January 28 for careless riding aboard Pearl Swan, Walsh was ruled out of Saturday's fixture and five days later failed in his appeal to have the ban overturned.

However, Walsh received what he describes as a "get out of jail card" with the news that the Scilly Isles Novices' Chase, lost with the abandonment of Sandown last Saturday, will be added to Newbury's high-class card, which also includes the Grade 2 Betfair Denman  Chase.

With a Grade 1 now being staged on the day, Walsh can defer the first day of his ban and he tweeted: "Looking like I have got a get out of jail card for Saturday! Grade 1 Scilly Isles is my ticket to at least take part. Happy days."

Earlier in the day Zarkandar, the general 10-3 favourite for the race formerly run as the Totesport Trophy, featured in a list of 24 horses at Monday's confirmation stage. Citizenship, as short as 8-1 with bet365 and Ladbrokes, was themost notable absentee.

On Zarkandar's chances, Nicholls said: "First and foremost he's not been trained just for Saturday - it's the Champion Hurdle that I want him at his very best. He could run a blinder but he will improve."

On the chances of racing, clerk of the course Richard Osgood said: "There are going to be some frosts at night time. We are going to have to play it day to day. I would have thought we would probably be all right to race today mainly because the overnight temperatures were above zero."