Altior affair shows trainers and bookies' relationships are a bit too cosy

There was no mistaking Nicky Henderson's indignation when he appeared on ITV last Friday to lambast what he saw as insinuations cast upon his conduct after Altior's withdrawal from the Tingle Creek.

Henderson, although he avoided specifics in the interview, was responding to the fallout over the gap between the first hint of a problem with Altior – a whistling noise on Saturday – and Wednesday evening's announcement he would miss next month's Sandown race owing to a minor procedure for a wind problem.

In the intervening days, Henderson had spoken to the media on several occasions without mentioning any doubts – in fact, he had been notably positive about Altior on Monday in an appearance on At The Races. On Wednesday, the star chaser's odds for the Tingle Creek drifted, suggesting that news or at least rumours concerning Altior's wellbeing had somehow leaked out of Seven Barrows, although the market activity was insignificant.