Horse Racing

Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase -Distance: 2 miles – Winning Time: 3:51.3

Big Zeb has thwarted Master Minded’s plan to clock up his third consecutive win in the Seasons Holidays Queen Mother Champion Chase – and confidently so. The nine-year-old is now being handled as a 3-1 favourite to defend his win at the 2011 Cheltenham Festival.
Trainer Colm Murphy and jockey Barry Geraghty are delighted with the success and impressed with Big Zeb’s performance; especially the stamina he exhibited storming up the final hill ahead of Cooper-trained Forpaddydeplasterer, Ferdy Murphy’s charge Kalahari King and race favourite Master Minded.
Master Minded, ridden by Ruby Walsh who was still recovering from two consecutive falls in the previous two races, did manage only a disappointing fourth place. However, trainer Paul Nicholls did acknowledge the superior performance given by Big Zeb, being gracious in defeat.