Presenting Percy 'lame as a duck' after Gold Cup and out for the season

The injury Presenting Percy sustained while disappointing in the Gold Cup is not as bad as first feared, but will be enough to rule him out until next season.

Expectations were high at Cheltenham despite his unusual preparation. The Pat Kelly-trained eight-year-old went off 100-30 favourite on his first start over fences since his impressive victory in the 2018 RSA, but was beaten 33 lengths in eighth and found by vets to be lame.

Philip Reynolds, Presenting Percy's owner, said: “He was lame as a duck after Cheltenham. He’s back at Pat’s, after spending time with [vet] Gerry Kelly, and the prognosis is better than first feared.

“He has something called sclerosis on his near hind, which in layman's terms means he's got a bad bone bruise. I know Gerry was fearful he’d suffered a fracture so thank God it’s not that serious but it’s still going to take him plenty of time to recover.

“He’ll need plenty of box rest before he does some time on the walker and then comes back to the farm here for the summer.”

Presenting Percy: is set for a spell on the easy list after disappointing in the Gold CupCredit: Patrick McCann

Asked if it took long to get over the disappointment of seeing Presenting Percy beaten in the Gold Cup, Reynolds added: “I was quite deflated after the race, more so because the horse didn’t perform on the day and I couldn’t understand how out of character the performance was, but now we know the reason why.

“There are far more disappointments than good days in this game and I always say I’d rather lead in a winner than lead out a favourite. I got over my deflation pretty quickly but I was disappointed for Pat.

“He was on a hiding to nothing at Cheltenham in that, if the horse won the Gold Cup, that’s what many people expected but if he didn’t, it was his fault because of the preparation.

“Pat doesn’t care what people think – we all know that – but at least now we have something to hang our summer on. We live to dream on a bit further.”

Reynolds and Kelly will hope to salvage some enjoyment out of a frustrating campaign when Mall Dini takes his chance in the Randox Health Grand National.

Mall Dini: 20-1 chance for Grand NationalCredit: Patrick McCann

Mall Dini is a general 20-1 chance for the big race on Saturday week and if he is to be successful he will need to emulate Rule The World, who was winless over fences before his 2016 victory.

Reynolds said: “He’s fine, but he still hasn’t won over fences and it’s not as though we haven’t been trying our hardest. He’s run some big races in defeat but he could be a 25-1 or 33-1 shot and probably deserves to be.”

Mall Dini will face 30 fences and 39 rivals, with one standing out more than most, last year's winner Tiger Roll, who will bid to become the first horse since Red Rum to win back-to-back Grand Nationals.

Reynolds said: “It's a funny thing to say about a Grand National, but I think it's a one-horse race, and that horse is Tiger Roll.

“He was probably entitled to do what he did at Cheltenham in the cross-country but he absolutely bolted up and I can see Davy [Russell] hunting him around on the outside and staying out of trouble. If he jumps around, he wins. I think it’s that simple.”

Reynolds added: “I’m thrilled to have a runner in the race but we’re realistic going over there. He had a good run over a trip too short for him at Limerick and Pat says he’s been good since.

“We’re delighted to have a jockey as good as Sean Flanagan committed to riding him and he should have a lovely weight. I wouldn't be worried about Mall Dini carrying more but it's better to be down at the bottom of the weights than at the top."

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