Hard to see Hurricane Fly being beaten at his favourite Leopardstown

Backing Hurricane Fly to win a fourth BHP Irish Champion Hurdle is unlikely to make most of us rich but opposing him around Leopardstown has always been a recipe for impoverishment and despite an injury scare during the week it's hard to see why it should be any different tomorrow.

Willie Mullins revealed yesterday that his "once-in-a-generation" superstar had bruised a foot some days ago, an injury which required poulticing for a short period but which has been fine since in the run-up to this weekend's feature.

Such blips are an everyday reality when it comes to thoroughbreds and this one is hardly likely to deflect many from siding with Hurricane Fly.

Certainly those who believed they saw signs of the great horse’s powers waning on his first start of the season back in November, and got suckered into believing either Jezki or Our Conor could confirm a new era in the hurdling game, got a jolting and expensive Christmas reminder of the old adage that while form may be temporary, class is permanent.

Unbeaten in seven starts around the Foxrock track, and with a world-record 18 Grade Ones' already in the bag, Hurricane Fly's latest statistical landmark will come if he emulates Istabraq's four-in-a-row in Ireland's most prestigious hurdle race. Istabraq, too, was never beaten around Leopardstown – when he stood up. But he fell twice. In contrast his successor on the pantheon of great Irish hurdlers has never taken a wrong step around the track that appears to suit him best.

Tactical subplot
Both Jezki and Our Conor pitch up again against Hurricane Fly tomorrow, along with Captain Cee Bee who introduced a fascinating tactical subplot to proceedings in the Ryanair Hurdle. Yet despite the changes of shape in that race, and the changes of pace, there was an authority to the older horse's eventual victory a month ago that is now impossible to ignore around a home-from-home that could play even more to his strengths this time.

Ruby Walsh certainly believes that tomorrow’s race being run on the innermost track at Leopardstown can only further increase his chance.

“It’s a sharper, speedier track. If you look at it coldly, it probably suits me better. Hurricane Fly is an ex-90s-rated flat horse. Our Conor is a Triumph winner but only a 68-70 flat horse. Jezki was a bumper horse. So on a tighter track, you’d be hoping Hurricane is going to hold them off again,” the jockey considered yesterday.

Such an edge, thrown on top of Willie Mullins’s belief that his horse may actually be getting even better at age 10, only heightens the scale of the challenge his two main rivals face.

Hurricane Fly has shown vulnerability at Cheltenham, and still managed to win a pair of Champion Hurdles there: at Leopardstown he hasn't provided even a chink of encouragement to any opposition.

In the circumstances, then, Jezki's effort to get within two and a half lengths of the great horse a month ago was admirable, and especially so since Tony McCoy hardly helped his cause with a sleepy ride that saw him pocketed, and forced to come round, before the final flight.

Take heart
The Our Conor camp, too, were able to take heart from a run which saw the youngest of the trio finish half a dozen lengths off the best around on his first start over flights in almost 10 months.

Danny Mullins didn’t harm his own reputation either in pocketing McCoy like that and he was in hopeful form yesterday. “To be going down to the last upsides Fly was a great performance for a young horse. He’ll improve a bit more and the vibes from Dessie (Hughes) are he’s been very happy with him,” the jockey said yesterday.

“We’re the ones that need to step up but he travelled very well down to the last maybe just got a bit tired. There was no point killing him on the day. I don’t think I could have finished second, but hopefully we might be able to reverse the placings,” Mullins added.

Jezki had the benefit of two outings before Christmas but his trainer, Jesscia Harrington, was under no illusions yesterday about the scale of the task Jezki has in facing the odds-on favourite again.

Neither was McCoy who admitted: “He’ll obviously need to improve because Hurricane Fly won pretty well.”

Even allowing for McCoy being extra-motivated after what happened at Christmas, and anticipated improvement from Our Conor, it is possible to believe both of those camps might get beaten tomorrow and still hold out realistic hopes of catching Hurricane Fly out at Cheltenham in March.

He can be beaten there: but the form-book says he doesn’t get beaten at Leopardstown.