Chance has his plans spoilt

Noel Chance will field depleted teams in the major National Hunt Festivals at Cheltenham and Aintree this Spring after it emerged that both Call It A Day and Inch Rose are unlikely to line up in their initial big-race target races.

The dual Gold Cup-winning trainer had hoped to run former David Nicholson inmate, Call It A Day, in the Christie's Fox-hunter Chase at next month's Cheltenham Festival. But wet weather put the final nail in that plan yesterday when Plumpton was abandoned, ruling out yet another opportunity to qualify the 11-year-old chaser for the March meeting.

Chance had also backed Inch Rose, runner-up to Relaxation in the National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup at last year's Cheltenham Festival, to win the 2001 Martell Grand National. The lightly raced seven-year-old mare was allotted 8st 9lb - well out of the handicap proper - when the weights for the 4m 4f chase were revealed a week ago.

But an injury incurred to her knee in the process of that Cheltenham defeat and the subsequent operation to remove a chip of bone has sparked serious arthritis. Her Lambourn handler now describes her chance of lining up in the famous marathon chase as only "70-30 against".

"We are close to calling our National plans for Inch Rose to a complete halt," Chance admitted.

Call It A Day (9st 6lb) now looks likely to be Chance's sole National runner. The 1998 Whitbread Gold Cup hero is something of an Aintree specialist, having finished third to Bobbyjo in 1999 and sixth to Papillon last year. He will now run in a hunter chase, rather than head to Cheltenham, in preparation for Aintree.

"We only have until 26 February to get either two wins or a win and a second under his belt in order to qualify him for the Cheltenham Foxhunters' Chase," said Chance. "Once Plumpton was abandoned yesterday, we ran out of time. So Cheltenham is forgotten and it's all eyes on the National."