Racing: Sick Call misses Navan

Imperial Call is on the injury list again and misses his outing in the Troytown Handicap Chase at Navan tomorrow. The winner of the 1996 Cheltenham Gold Cup has suffered a slight muscle pull in his quarters.

"He was a bit stiff after being exercised on the Flat yesterday," Anne Sutherland, the wife of his trainer, Fergie, said yesterday. "It's only a minor problem and he should not be any more than a week on the sidelines."

Imperial Call was dogged by injury last season and was pulled up in the last Gold Cup. He made a splendid comeback this season when finishing second to Dorans Pride, the favourite for the Gold Cup, at Clonmel. The performance prompted bookmakers to cut Imperial Call's price for winning back his Gold Cup crown.