RACING: Previous winners Hardy Eustace, Brave Inca, Sublimity and Katchit are among the 34 entries declared today for this year's Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle which takes place on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival in March.
A strong Irish challenge of 15 also includes Sizing Europe, successful in last season’s Irish Champion Hurdle, Grade One winners Jered, Catch Me, Harchibald and Won In The Dark plus the classy novice Hurricane Fly.
The French entry is the Francois Doumen-trained Onnix, who was sixth in last year’s Pertemps Final at The Festival and is owned by Michael Smurfit.
The extended two-mile contest is one of the few races to elude Paul Nicholls and this year the champion trainer looks set to rely on Celestial Halo and Rippling Ring.
Celestial Halo’s first season over hurdles culminated with victory in the JCB Triumph Hurdle at the festival last year and the five-year-old started the current campaign with a second to the current ante-post Champion Hurdle favourite Binocular in the Grade Two Boylesports.com International at Ascot last time out.
Rippling Ring also enjoyed a good first campaign over hurdles last season and was fifth in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at last year’s festival on only his second appearance over hurdles.
Other notable entries include last year’s second and third Osana and Punjabi plus Snap Tie, who lowered the colours of Katchit on his seasonal reappearance at Kempton. Crack Away Jack and Ashkazar, who finished first and second in last season’s Fred Winter Juvenile Novices’ Handicap Hurdle.
Hardy Eustace won the race in 2004 and 2005, Brave Inca in 2006, Sublimity in 2007 while Katchit prevailed last time around. The race takes place on Tuesday, March 10th.