Irish raider can beat his rivals for sheer speed and put Ruby Walsh back in the winner’s enclosure
Ahead of all other attributes, speed is the key to Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle and Hurricane Fly can prove simply too quick for his rivals on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival. Forced out of the reckoning for the past two years through injury, he has enjoyed a contrastingly smooth preparation this season.
It isn’t hard to pick holes in his three Grade 1 wins. After all, they came at the expense of the same rival, Solwhit, who himself made no impact in this race last year.
But Solwhit’s scalp is not an easy one to take, particularly on home territory and on his favoured soft ground, and this bigger field, faster pace and quicker ground should see Hurricane Fly in an even better light. Furthermore, the sloppy jumping which occasionally blighted his record in the past seems to have been ironed out this season.
Menorah and Peddlers Cross both make obvious appeal. Champion novices last season, both are unbeaten this winter, Menorah ending a possible Champion Hurdle challenge from Cue Card when comfortably cutting that rival down here in December, while Peddlers Cross took the scalp of the reigning champion Binocular in November.
Likeable as they are, if all three should come to the final flight in a line, Hurricane Fly (3.20) and the resurgent Ruby Walsh are fancied to prove just a stride too quick on the run to the winning post.
There’s no way that Clerk’s Choice deserves a dismissive 66-1 quote, especially with the drying conditions very much in his favour, and he should belie those odds with a decent run.
He clocked a good time over course and distance in October and connections firmly believe that soft ground has blunted his speed in two starts since.
1.30 Supreme Novice Hurdle Unable to handle heavy ground on his last couple of starts, Zaidpour is worth a chance to show his true colours on a quicker surface. Willie Mullins does not usually confuse his geese with swans and the champion Irish trainer has never made any secret of the regard in which he holds this horse. Pineau De Re, who was thrashed by Zaidpour at Fairyhouse in December, has underlined the value of that form since and this race has gone to Ireland in seven of the last 10 years. The favourite, Cue Card, is a very likeable horse who travels and jumps, but there are nagging doubts about just what he achieved when beaten by Menorah here in December and his two previous victories over hurdles proved even less. Sprinter Sacre is fancied to prove jockey Barry Geraghty to have made the wrong choice and come out on top of stablemate Spirit Son.
2.05 Arkle Trophy Everything points to this race being run at a frantic pace, which could play into the hands of a fast finisher such as Realt Dubh. Not only do several of these runners have a proven need to set the pace, but many of the other leading contenders will also need to be ridden aggressively if their stamina is to come into play. Realt Dubh impressed when outfighting Noble Prince to score at Leopardstown in January and it would be unwise to underestimate the strength of that and his previous Grade 1 victory at the same track. Quicker ground ought not to be a problem either. Medermit has done his best to atone since his refusal at Huntingdon earlier this season, but I remain unconvinced about his conviction in the heat of battle. Ghizao is a strong contender, having taken particularly well to chasing.
2.40 Stewart Family Handicap Chase This is just Great Endeavour‘s seventh start over fences and there must be a good chance that he is capable of finding the required improvement, especially now that he is stepped up in distance. Decent ground will definitely help his chances. Bensalem is also predictably short in the betting, after his unfortunate lapse at the second-last fence in last year’s race when he looked likely to win. The fact remains that he has fallen on two of his past three starts over fences. Adams Island is the sort to go well at a big price if his jumping holds together.
4.00 Cross-country Chase Fast going is a new factor to consider in a race in which bets remain best kept to a minimum. Garde Champetre looks almost guaranteed to run his race again, but there might just be something which picks up his legs better at the end of nearly four miles. One Cool Cookie produced his best recent effort in similar conditions at Down Royal 12 months ago and was noted keeping on strongly from off the pace in the Becher Chase in November. The re-application of the tongue-tie and cheekpieces is another positive.
