Zaarito to head Murphy's festival team

Round-upColm Murphy faces the prospect of a Cheltenham festival without Brave Inca for the first time, but the Wexford trainer still plans to make his presence felt next month with a new generation of rising stars, headed by the Champion Bumper favourite Zaarito.

Unbeaten in three starts, Zaarito could be joined in a select Murphy team by the star mare Megans Joy, who faces a race against time to be ready for the Supreme Novices Hurdle.

The high-class novice chaser Big Zeb may bypass the SunAlliance in favour of some home options, but Murphy is still eagerly anticipating the festival, although he admits it feels a little strange not having Brave Inca to call on.

"Usually everything was geared around him at this time of year, so it does feel a little bit funny this time," said Murphy, who prepared Brave Inca to win the 2004 Supreme and then finish third, first and second in the following three renewals of the Champion Hurdle.

A leg problem ruled Brave Inca out of action earlier this season, and a possible return to action at the Punchestown festival in April has now been all but ruled out.

"Even if we did manage to run him at Punchestown, I wouldn't be able to have him competing off a level playing field as he couldn't have a prep run," Murphy said yesterday.

"Instead, we'll let him off for the summer and bring him back for next season. He's cantering away and is in great form, but it's simply a question of time."

Brave Inca's young stable companions are stepping up to the plate instead, and none more so than Zaarito, who is at the top of the Bumper ante-post betting along with Tom Mullins's Time Electric.

Murphy has already used the "could be anything" phrase for Zaarito, and concedes he doesn't know how good the horse may turn out to be.

"We don't do much with him at home because he's such a light-framed horse. But what he has done on the track has been very impressive. He impressed me very much the last day. I thought he would win, but I didn't think he would do that. Everything will need to go to plan for us to get him there but, if we do, I don't think we will have any problem getting a jockey." he said.

Megans Joy is a general 20 to 1 shot for the Supreme, and Murphy said he would love to get a run into the mare, although he may have to rely on a racecourse gallop instead.

"I'm running out of time a little with her. She's just taking her time coming to hand. I would love to get a run into her, and there's a race the weekend after next, but it's over two-and-a-half. I might have to do a racecourse gallop instead," he said.

Megans Joy hasn't run since finishing fourth to Muirhead and Cork All Star in the Grade One Royal Bond Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse in December, but before that she ran up a winning streak of five races.

In more immediate news, Navan stages a trio of Grade Two events on Sunday, although the Arkle hope Perce Rock is unlikely to take up the option of the Flyingbolt Novice Chase.

The Tommy Stack-trained horse took a heavy fall at the last fence at Leopardstown last month, but he remains a contender for the Arkle at Cheltenham for which he is as low as 16 to 1 with some firms.

"We probably won't run him at Navan, and instead we will look at a school somewhere. After that we will examine our options. There's the Arkle, or we might wait for a Grade Three at Fairyhouse over Easter," said Stack's son and assistant, Fozzie.

"It hasn't gone ideally for him this season, but he probably didn't stay the last day and then took a heavy fall," he added. "But he is in good form again after a break."

One Cheltenham contender who will take his chance at Navan is Footy Facts, who could earn a spot in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle field with a good performance in the Boyne Hurdle.

Footy Facts also has the Pertemps option at the festival, and trainer Robert Tyner said: "He won well the last time, but we're just a little worried as the ground is drying out all the time. So we will see how he goes on Sunday before making plans."

Philip Fenton is eyeing the Johnstown Hurdle at Naas later in the month as a trial for Woodbine Willie, who could yet make the Ballymore Properties field at the festival.

"When he ran a month ago at Naas he ran a good race, but, for some reason we couldn't put a finger on, he didn't perform as well as he can. He carried his head to one side," Fenton said.

"We had a chiropractor in and that seems to have rectified the problem," he added. "I'm sure we could run in the two-mile-five at Cheltenham, but we will see how he goes at Naas first."