Trainer Neil King admits connections are still confused by Lil Rockerfeller’s poor run in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot last month.
The six-year-old started the season with a third-placed finish at Wetherby in November before following that up with a win at Ascot.
He returned to the course on December 23 for the Long Walk Hurdle but the Chestnut Gelding never settled and could only finish sixth behind eventual winner Sam Spinner.
King insists his team have continued to work hard to try and find a problem but they still have no reason for the poor run.
“Ascot was way below his best, but there was obviously something amiss there,” King told At The Races.
“Nothing has come to light. We’ve done all the tests. It’s possible he just hard a very hard race there a month previously as he puts his heart and soul into all his races.
“He’s in good order now. We’ve just gone quiet on him over Christmas and we’re picking him up again now.
“We’ll take a look at the Cleeve Hurdle and see whether we want to run him there or the National Spirit at Fontwell again – or we could go straight to Cheltenham.
“There’s been an awful lot of horses this season running inconsistently, specifically over Christmas.
“Maybe it’s a case of them having harder races than we thought in heavy ground. They are allowed to have an off-day.”
