Nick Wilby takes a look at this year's Champion Hurdle.
The Cheltenham Festival is now just three weeks away and the atmosphere ahead of the world’s most prestigious race meeting is beginning to reach fever pitch.
One of the highlights of the week undoubtedly comes on the first day and punters will need no reminding that this year’s Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle looks set to be an absolute thriller.
Whereas last year’s renewal was dominated by market leader Binocular, this year sees an open betting heat headed by Irish raider Solwhit.
With five Grade One victories to his name, Solwhit heads to this year’s Festival with all the form in the book. With victories over 2009 Champion Hurdle hero Punjabi and 2008 winner Sublimity it is easy to see why his price is as low as 4/1 (William Hill) and he goes into the race on the back of his most impressive performance to date, a bloodless victory in the Irish Champion Hurdle last month. The two mile test around Cheltenham looks likely to suit the Irish superstar more than most and his jumping looks better than it ever has been. However, while he should take some beating I would be wary about taking short prices on a horse that has yet to race at the course.
Next in the betting is Noel Meade’s Go Native (9/2, VC Bet) and he too heads to this year’s Festival in the form of his life. There can be no crabbing his record at Cheltenham after an exhilarating victory in last year’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and with his nemesis Hurricane Fly missing most of the season through injury, Meade’s star has landed back-to-back Grade One victories. A victory here will see him land the WBX £1 million bonus for connections and with a victory over Solwhit in the Fighting Fifth to his name; his followers can head into the race full of confidence. However, he is not for me at 4/1 and I have fears that the form of the Christmas Hurdle is not as strong as many have concluded.
Zaynar (8/1, Ladbrokes) was 7/2 favourite for the race before he fluffed his lines at Kelso last week and a 1/14 defeat to Quewetwo (however highly his stable regard him) is not the ideal preparation for a hose with Champion Hurdle glory on his radar. I couldn’t believe it when Zaynar was cut by the bookmakers after his effortless victory over a group of inferior rivals at Cheltenham this season and his price is far more realistic at 8/1. Clearly never at home on bottomless ground last week, punters should expect Nicky Henderson’s youngster to improve for that run.
Of far more interest is KHYBER KIM (19/2, William Hill) who is taken to continue the relentless improvement he has shown so far this season. Before the beginning of this campaign, anybody who said that a horse who was tailed off in last season’s County Hurdle would have a chance in the 2010 Champion Hurdle would have been laughed out of the bookies.
However, his return to Cheltenham on his seasonal reappearance in November yielded a cozy victory in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle and he looked a new horse, impressively holding off the challenge of Harry Tricker. The form of that race has been well advertised and Khyber Kim proved it was no fluke when he took a step up in class to return to the course and land the Boylesports International Hurdle. Nigel Twiston-Davies’ horse had Celestial Halo, Medermit and Punjabi behind him that day and it would seem fair to say that he could be even more effective given a stronger early gallop (something he will surely get at Cheltenham).
No horse since Rooster Booster has followed up in the Festival showpiece after winning the International Hurdle, but Khyber Kim looks in great form this season and he is finally building on the promise he showed as a youngster. He is now responsible for two top quality performances at Cheltenham and it is easy to forget that he was actually a better horse on the flat than most of his Champion Hurdle opposition, hitting an overall rating of 106.
He is not the most consistent type in the antepost betting and it would be fair to say that his temperament will always be a slight concern, but Khyber Kim is evidently a class act on his day and his form stacks up with the other leading contenders. It is become increasingly obvious that the horse thoroughly enjoys Cheltenham’s surging circuit and the course’s uphill finish is evidently not a problem. I was delighted to see the horse taken out of the totesport Trophy (a race he was handed top weight for) and the fact that he goes best fresh only adds to the argument that Khyber Kim represents serious each-way value at 19/2.
Last year’s winner Punjabi looks set to spearhead Nicky Henderson’s Champion Hurdle charge and at odds of 11/1 (William Hill) many people will be more than happy to back the defending champion. He has been a work in progress all year and a defence of his title at Cheltenham has clearly always been the plan. That being said, he blew up on his seasonal reappearance and the more I look at last year’s Festival the more I am inclined to think that he was passing tired horses when he flew up the Cheltenham hill. They went a frenetic gallop that day and allowed to win at odds of 33/1, stablemate Binocular had always been Henderson’s number one hope in the build up to the race.
Far more interesting is 2008 winner Sublimity who is a whopping 22/1 with William Hill. The ten-year-old has got to within two lengths of both Go Native and Solwhit on two separate occasions this season and he looked the most likely winner two out in this year’s Irish Champion Hurdle. The bottomless ground saw the horse fail to get home but if the ground were to come up good at Cheltenham in March, he could get a lot closer and his price could look outrageously big.
Alan King has been unable to keep a lid on his confidence behind Medermit (9/1, Paddy Power) and the chances of Paul Nicholls must be respected when he says that last year’s runner-up Celestial Halo (16/1, William Hill) should be forgiven his latest run on poor ground at Leopardstown.
Nick Wilby’s selections:
Back KHYBER KIM each-way for the 2010 Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle at odds of 19/2 (William Hill).