Binocular goes straight to Cheltenham Stan James Champion Hurdle
The eight-year-old raging colt, Binocular’s connections made a final decision on Monday that the colt will now head directly to next month’s Cheltenham Festival. Nicky Henderson’s high profile horse is due to run in the Stan James Champion Hurdle.
Binocular was scheduled to make his prep run at Sandown earlier this month. However, the poor weather abandoned that show, prompting Binocular’s connections to make some other plans.
There had been a discussion about the eight-year-old’s possible participation in Wednesday’s BetVictor Morebattle Hurdle at Kelso. Yet, the final decision about skipping the prep race came at the start of this week, when Frank Berry, racing manager
to owner JP McManus, confirmed that the seasoned horse will head straight to the Champion Hurdle.
“After missing a few races now and with the way the weather has gone, I think we're just going to have to go straight to Cheltenham now,” he said.
Frank also shared: "Nicky is quite happy with him and, while you would always love to get another race into them, that shouldn't be a problem."
The French horse made his previous outing on Boxing Day, when he topped the chart in the Grade 1 Williamhill.com Christmas Hurdle at Kempton.
It was a very close win for John P McManus’ owned horse, as he wrested the glory just by a neck’s margin.
His Irish rival, Rock On Ruby, came up with a late challenge, but the Nicky Henderson-trained managed to clinch the victory after a nail-biting contest.
So far in his career, he has registered 10 hurdle victories including 2010’s Champion Hurdle triumph.
The rampant horse has been enjoying good rhythm these days, and is likely to be tagged as the favourite for next month’s extravaganza. However, no competitive run ahead of the upcoming mega event might hurt Binocular’s preparations to some extent.
Binocular, who has been given the odds of 10 to 1 for the Champion Hurdle, is aiming to win the title once again. He is going to face a tough challenge at Cheltenham, where the likes of Oscar Whisky, Hurricane Fly, and Zaidpour will be ready to spoil
his show.
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