Last four winners enter Cheltenham’s Stan James Champion Hurdle
A thrilling battle is on the cards in Stan James Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival this season, as last four winners have entered the Grade 1 meeting. On Wednesday, 34 entries were declared for the big event, but the line-up would be squeezed, because
the weather is likely to be inhospitable in March.
Last year's hero, Rock On Ruby, is all set to defend his title. In order to complete the preparations, trainer Harry Fry is intended to give his 8-year-old charge one more race ahead of the championship contest.
He stated: "He is all set for a prep run at either Sandown on February 2 [Contenders Hurdle] or at Wincanton on February 16 [Kingwell Hurdle], weather permitting, as I'm not sure what the winter is going to bring next.:
"He is not going to run on heavy ground between now and Cheltenham. If the ground is decent, he will have a prep run but if not, he will have a racecourse gallop instead.”
The handler added: "He is in great form at the moment and his run in the International has brought him on a ton - I am very pleased with him.”
The son of Oscar did a great job by defeating Overturn by 3¾ lengths at Cheltenham last season. He, however, failed to continue the winning journey afterwards.
In the Grade 1 John Smith's Aintree Hurdle at Aintree the following month, he could only finish third in the field of five. Another unlucky loss came to his way last month, when he returned to action after a long gap.
The spectators at Cheltenham saw him ending up third behind Zarkandar in the Grade 2 Stanjames.com International Hurdle.
Another former winner, Hurricane Fly, is geared to make some damage. The 2011 hero looks to be the strongest Irish competitor in the meeting, despite the presence of Zaidpour, Thousand Stars and Cause Of Causes.
Binocular, who won the race in 2010, and Punjabi – the 2009 champion – are also part of the crew. Among the other big names are: Grandouet, Oscar Whisky, Khyber Kim, Cash And Go, General Miller, Countrywide Flame, Zarkandar, Grumeti, and Raya Star.
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