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Cracking Rhapsody ruled out of Scottish Champion Hurdle due to injury

By Racing TV

Last Updated: Thu 16 Apr 2026

By Ed Watson

Cracking Rhapsodywill miss Saturday’s Coral Scottish Champion Hurdle through injury.

Last year’s winner suffered a fractured pastern during a routine workout ahead of the defence of his Ayr crown and underwent surgery at Edinburgh’s world-renowned Dick Vet last night.

The injury is not thought to be career-threatening and trainer Ewan Whillans is hopeful his stable star will make a full recovery ahead of a return to action in the autumn.

Cracking Rhapsody slipped coming back off Whillans’ gallops on Wednesday morning in what was meant to be his final preparation for Saturday’s £100,000 contest.

The untimely incident has robbed the seven-year-old - already a dual winner of Kelso’s Morebattle Hurdle - of the chance to emulate hurdling great Sea Pigeon, who is the only horse to land consecutive Scottish Champion Hurdles (1977 and 1978).

Cracking Rhapsody won a thrilling renewal of the Coral Scottish Champion Hurdle last year

Hawick-based Whillans said: “Sadly, Cracking Rhapsody won’t be running in the Scottish Champion Hurdle on Saturday.

“He had three screws put into the fracture to pin it and he seems to have come through it well so far, which is the biggest relief.

“It’s desperately frustrating but I’m just thankful we caught it when we did, rather than it happening in the race on Saturday. In that respect, it’s a blessing in disguise.

“He’s staying at the Dick Vet until he’s ready to come home.The vets there say he’ll need four to six weeks’ box rest before we are able to get him back on the walker.

“Hopefully everything continues to go in the right direction and we can get him back to the track again, possibly around November time.”

The news is also a blow to jockey Peter Kavanagh, who had been booked to partner Cracking Rhapsody for the first time.

Regular rider Craig Nichol is currently out with a knee problem, while Henry Brooke, the only other jockey to have ridden Whillans’ stable star, has been sidelined since September.

It would have been a plum spare ride for Kavanagh, who only rode out his claim last summer and set a new career-best of 22 winners for the season at Sedgefield last Friday.

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