Magnus, a £340,000 sterling purchase from France, suffered a shock reverse in the Relkeel Hurdle when trailing home last of the five runners at Newbury yesterday.

The 1 to 3 favourite was found to have bled from the nose after travelling and jumping well for a long way in the two mile and five furlong contest, which was won in battling style by Seamus Mullins' See You Sometime.

David Johnson, the owner of Magnus, was philosophical in defeat: "Hopefully he will be back before the end of the season and, maybe, at Cheltenham in March," he said.

"I've been racing long enough to know that these things happen and at least we know there is a problem. It's probably better to be beaten like that rather than half a length as we wouldn't know where we were with him."

Trainer Martin Pipe was also upbeat despite the reverse, saying: "He's burst a blood vessel and Tony has just eased him home once he knew there was a problem.

"I was actually very pleased with his jumping in the race as he's been a bit suspect at home. However, what happened is obviously very disappointing and it's a case of back to the drawing board.

"It's a hiccup we'll have to sort out but hopefully I will be up to it.

"We haven't actually done a lot with him at home since he came from France and we may have run him too quickly in hindsight."

Green Ideal was made 20 to 1 favourite by William Hill for the Elite Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham next March after making a winning debut for Nicky Henderson in the Goose Juvenile Novices' Hurdle.

Formerly handled on the Flat by Amanda Perrett, the colt came with a perfectly-timed run under Mick Fitzgerald to beat French raider Kelami by a length and a half.

Neil Callan was knocked unconscious in a crashing fall at Lingfield yesterday.

The jockey was thrown onto the ground when his mount, May Princess, came to grief when racing in mid-division in the Littlewoods Bet Direct Daily Special Offers Maiden, and Callan was trampled on by following horses.

Clerk of the course Chris Stickels said: "He's regained consciousness and has been taken to Redhill Hospital. He was unconscious for about five minutes but he regained consciousness as they were putting him into the ambulance."

Callan will face the mandatory 21 days on the sidelines for being knocked out for more than a minute.