Owners and trainers hoping cancelled cross-country chase can be rescheduled for Cheltenham's April meeting

Martin Keighley is among those hoping that the Glenfarclas Chase might be rescheduled for the next Cheltenham meeting in April, after the race was abandoned on Wednesday due to waterlogging. 

Keighley and owners JB Property Investments bought Escaria Ten out of the Patrice Quinton yard with a view to running on Wednesday, but were prevented from declaring him on Monday owing to a hold-up in the completion of import documents being completed.

Keighley is one of several trainers who have since been in touch with Cheltenham to ask about the possibility of rearranging the cross-country event, while a spokesperson for Jockey Club Racecourses said that "alternative options for staging the race would be considered".

Formerly with Gordon Elliott, Escaria Ten went to French cross-country king Quinton last summer, who gave the ten-year-old an entry for the festival.

Keighley said: "We got the paperwork done on our side and the plan was to run in the cross-country and then we couldn’t declare because the French hadn’t done the import form in time. I spoke to Jon Pullin at Cheltenham and a few other trainers have so it would be nice if they could transfer the cross-country chase to the April meeting. If that happens, we’ll look to run him there."

Keighley saddled Any Currency to be runner-up twice in the festival cross-country, while the same horse was disqualified from first in 2016 after returning a contaminated post-race sample. 

Asked what the future holds for Escaria Ten if this year's race is not rescheduled, Keighley said the Punchestown festival might come under consideration, as well as a crack at the longest race in Europe, the Anjou-Loire Challenge. 

"I suppose you’d look at Punchestown or even take him back over to France," said Keighley. "You’ve got a nice pot at Le Lion-d’Angers in the middle of May and Any Currency was third in that race. I'd look at that for Back On The Lash as well, we might as well go over with two."

Keighley argued that the unique nature of the race at the festival, as well as its place in the pan-European cross-country championship, made it a candidate for rescheduling.

"You would hope they’ll give it every chance [to be restaged] and it is part of the Crystal Cup," he said.  

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