Champion Hurdle Betting Guide

“You have to go there (Champion Hurdle), it's not very difficult as he's got nowhere else to go. He's at least earned his colours and wants one of those courses where they go a real slog and ideally he wants one of those headlong gallops. That place gets to him in the preliminaries and we're delighted to get away from the place for a change. He will go novice chasing next year.”

"I haven't really discussed it but I can't believe we're going to go three miles as he didn't race like a three-miler. He looked to be wanting a real fast-run two which he proved in the Champion Hurdle last year."

"Our initial plan is to remain over hurdles, and we are prepared to step up to as far as 3m for the World Hurdle. However, while I'm having these bright ideas, I see he's favourite for the Arkle Trophy! Of course, chasing is an option, and he schooled well before the beginning of last season, but we'd like to see how far he can get as a hurdler. He boiled over before the Triumph Hurdle, but is far more relaxed these days. He is likely to reappear in the 2m3f Ascot Hurdle."

“That should put him spot on for Cheltenham as he has jumped a lot better today and we are happy with that run. Katchit is a tough nut to crack but we will take him on again in the Champion Hurdle.”

"He always seemed to have them covered and always looked as if he would win. I think it worked out well today but the ground is very testing. He was very, very sick at Thurles last time but I was confident he was as well as he could be today and will improve. He was third in the Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle last year but I regretted running him - we should have gone for the Supreme when Clopf didn't make it. That was a nice performance though and I think we could get away with the ground at Cheltenham for one day."

"The Champion Hurdle is the aim with Ebaziyan. He gets two and a half miles, so we put him in the World Hurdle as an option. But I am assuming he will get better ground at Cheltenham than he has been running on so far this season, and he certainly came right in March last year. He had to run in those races to gain experience. He just hasn't been able to go on the heavy ground we have been getting here. He'll run at Leopardstown next Sunday but I wouldn't be too worried about that either."

"If you go back a year and watch him winning in Thurles before he won the Supreme Novices' and you couldn't see him wining that either. It was a present of a race for him (yesterday) and I had to stick him in it. It was for winners of two and we had to go there. I think better better ground suits him. He likes it better and his class just probably won it for him yesterday. I thought he struggled but he just had enough class to win the race. His home work is fantastic. What he did there (at Cheltenham) is what he does at home,"

"As he won the Supreme Novices' for us last season, we will probably go the Champion Hurdle route with him. He could start off in a second-season novice race at Down Royal next weekend, as he has been working well and is in good form. Ground-wise he doesn't seem to like extremes: good ground but not too fast suits, while he can handle a good ease but not very testing conditions."

"He's a horse who's improved every month of the year. He might run at Leopardstown over Christmas. I made the entry today, although I would prefer to wait for the AIG and then maybe the Champion Hurdle. He's rated 155 over hurdles here, so he's maybe 160 or 161 in England. In that case we can forget about handicaps. Last year I said to the owner that he's a talented horse but he's a terrible worrier. Gradually he got better and better, but it wasn't until he had those easy races at Sligo and Killarney in May that he realised life wasn't that hard. He seemed to stop worrying after that. He never ran a good race when he travelled, that's the only thing, If I do go to England with him I'd go about 10 days beforehand."

"I don't think Harchibald will run (in the AIG) and you probably won't see him again until the Champion Hurdle. I might give him a run on the all-weather beforehand and I hope they get good ground in Cheltenham this year as it was just too soft for him at Kempton and he couldn't handle it. I thought Harchibald battled better that day than he ever has. He was a bit stiff after his race but he has always been like that, although he is much better."

"Paul said he was in trouble down the back and it is pretty testing ground, which he didn't travel on. He got to the front OK, but it was just too soft for him."

"I was a bit short of room turning in but I knew I had so much horse under me that I was never worried. He jumps three times quicker than any other horse, which is a massive advantage. He felt every bit as good today - if not better - than he did three years ago."

"Last season was a frustrating one with him, as he was never really 100 per cent right. To be fair to him, he had been in training for two years without a real break. When he picked up that birch injury at Leopardstown in December 2005, the vets advised that we keep him in instead of letting him off for a proper break. By the time he was fit last season, he was probably a bit fed up with things. He's come back from his summer break in good form, seems happy in himself and we´re quite happy with him. I had planned to run him at Tipperary last Sunday, but he came back slightly stiff after working at Roscommon, so we gave it a miss. He looks well and I hope he'll be able to run up to somewhere near his best this season. He's won the Fighting Fifth and the Boylesports at Cheltenham and it's possible we'll look at one of those races for him, although we will be doing our best to avoid very testing ground. We still view him as a Champion Hurdle horse."

“I am delighted with that as they went a good pace but if they had not we would have made our own pace and he is now very much in the throes of running a big race in the Champion Hurdle. I am not sure he was at his best in the Boylesports International as the race came quite quick after the Fighting Fifth. There were only two weeks between them and he is probably better with more space between runs. I'm not saying that we will turn the tables on Osana but we might get a lot closer and that will put us bang in the mix for the race judged on how they are betting. Choc (Thornton) has always said he is a better horse on decent ground like he got at Cheltenham last March even though he handles soft and has won on it.”

"No excuses, we were in front long enough but by the time we got to the last, that was as fast as he was going to go. We have still got every right to think of the Champion Hurdle and for a four-year-old, he's run a hell of race and I wouldn't mind riding him wherever he goes."

"He's been an absolute star. There aren't many horses do what he did - win four times over hurdles at Cheltenham in the course of one season. He had a proper break in the summer, which he fully deserved after running 17 times during 2006. If he grew it was only a little, but he certainly thickened out. I talked myself into thinking he'd get beaten on his reappearance at Aintree - one, because giving 15lb to Degas Art was a tough ask, and second, because mine were just tending to need the run at the time. But I was thrilled with his performance and he'll definitely improve for it. He hasn't done much at home since, but we'll step things up in a week as Newcastle approaches. The Fighting Fifth will be his biggest test, taking on older horses for the first time, and it will determine his mid-season programme."

"I hope he will go the Champion Hurdle but he needs to prove against himself the older horses. He does have the right attributes to be a Champion Hurdle horse though."

"He's second or third favourite for the Champion now so all roads will be leading to Cheltenham in March. He's only five, he's lightly-raced and he's still improving. The thing about him is that he's a very fluent jumper. He reminds me of Make A Stand, the way that he gets over hurdles. He even got in close to the last, but he was very clever and quick away."

"Very exciting prospect, although I´m not sure whether he stays hurdling or goes chasing. He had a great first season for us, running his best race on his final start when just outspeeded by Blythe Knight at Aintree. He had three options at the festival and we plumped for the County Hurdle because we were one of only a few runners in the handicap; although he finished tenth he still ran a great race. He looks to have strengthened up noticeably for a long summer break and, whether it´s in the big handicap hurdles or in novice chases, he´s very much one to look forward to. When the time comes, I have no doubt he´s an Arkle horse."

"I was delighted with Punjabi in the totesport Trophy and I think there is room for a little bit of improvement there too. It is always hard for the five-year-olds but he's got natural pace and natural talent. With top weight at Newbury that was a good effort and I would have to say I would be disappointed if there wasn't more to come from him. I wouldn't throw him out of it."

"That is it guys, it is brilliant and I am speechless. Obviously we were hoping to win and he was in great order coming here. But that was a phenomenal run - I'm stunned actually and could hardly believe he was just cantering down the back straight. In fact, I was afraid he was doing too much on the outside, but Andrew knew what he was about. It's so exciting to have a horse like this in the yard. He pinged the last. After his fall in Punchestown we have really concentrated on his schooling and it is starting to pay off. I have never had a Champion Hurdle horse, but he has always looked a serious horse. With Cheltenham in mind, we'd have been pleased had he run second or third, but he's shown today that he is certainly good enough to go for the Champion Hurdle. We might have to run him in it now! He ticked all the boxes out there today. He was bloody impressive. He jumped the last like it was a fence. We had loose-schooled him before his first run of the season as, at that stage, we hadn't decided whether he was going to stay hurdling or go chasing. The way Sizing Europe beat those good horses today was unreal. We're not going to get carried away and there's Sublimity and other good horses out there that we will have to take on at Cheltenham. Our fellow goes on most types of ground other than extremes and while the jockeys today said the ground was dead, I was delighted to see the ground dry out as much as it did. The faster they go, the better this horse likes it and we should get a good pace at Cheltenham. He likes racing fresh and he won't run again before the festival.We won't have to do a lot with him and as the Old Vic gallop on the Curragh has served us well up to now, we'll be going back there with him."

"You haven't seen anything yet - this horse is a chaser really and is only hurdling on the road to the Gold Cup. It is not possible to take Andrew (McNamara) off now. Timmy Murphy had the opportunity to ride, but chose Al Eile, so we can't take Andrew off as he has done nothing wrong.''

"It wasn't much ... But not good enough to run him (in the Festival Hurdle), and it could have written him off for the season. Sizing Europe is in grand form and worked well last Friday. He's an exciting prospect, a big frame of a horse with improvement in him. He needs to run on Sunday because I want to get another race into him. There's the Red Mills Trial at Gowran but that's getting a bit near Cheltenham."

"I'm a dreamer, so we'll be thinking about that (Champion Hurdle), but I'd say we'll look for a conditions hurdle somewhere first. But I've always thought he could be the real deal."

"He's absolutely fine. In the cold light of day he ran a very similar race to the one he did there last year. He came there after the last but he didn't quite get up the hill but we live to fight another day. Afsoun is a bit like us on our day. They are good horses but they are probably just a shade below the very top level. We are there to have a go at the top boys and both horses deserve to have a go at the Champion. That is still the plan. Obviously I need to have a chat with the owner but there is nowhere else to run him so he might as well go there."

"Our only chance was to try and get into a scrap otherwise (Harchibald) was going to come there and win like he does. He let him pop the second-last and the last and AP just left a little bit up his sleeve. Whether he's really Champion Hurdle class, to go and win one, I don't know. He might be a couple of lengths short but he deserves to take his chance. I'm convinced (his poor run in last year's race) was due to a rough journey to Cheltenham, which caused him to fret in his box and get very stewed up in the run-up to the race. He'd never done it before and there's certainly been no indication of any bleeding since Kempton, so we're aiming for the festival again and hoping for the best."

"We're not going to run (in the AIG). The plan was the Boylesports, the AIG and the Champion, but the ground's too heavy everywhere. There's only six weeks until the Champion Hurdle after Sunday's race. We didn't want to bottom him out and give him a hard race. I've spoken to the owners and we've decided against the AIG. It's straight to Cheltenham now. He's actually more forward and fitter than he was this time last year. He only had his first run this week last year at Navan. We're happy enough with him. Everything, touch-wood, is fine. If nothing goes wrong with him in the meantime we're well ahead of schedule, fitness-wise."

"I thought he was probably 80 to 85 per cent fit, but I felt if he was to blow up in the race, it would have been after the last and not before it. Fitness obviously caught him out, but we'll work on that before the AIG. We're not crying or anything like that, and I'm not complaining. We're not disappointed or overjoyed. He arrived home at 6.15am and seems fine after his travels, but we have plenty to work on before his next race at Leopardstown, and he'll be a much fitter horse for the AIG."