RACING:DERMOT WELD is keeping his fingers crossed that champion jockey Paul Townend will be available to ride Unaccompanied against Hurricane Fly in Sunday's BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle.

Townend, who won the race last year on Hurricane Fly, has been on board Unaccompanied in all but one of her six career starts over jumps but could be claimed to ride one of Willie Mullins’s strong team of entries this Sunday.

The picture may become clearer after today’s five-day forfeit stage for the €110,000 highlight at Leopardstown but Weld is hoping Unaccompanied’s regular jockey will be free.

“Hopefully Paul Townend will be available to ride her,” Weld reported yesterday. “Unaccompanied is very well but we have to be realistic. She still has something to learn and taking on Hurricane Fly is a big task.”

Bookmakers, though, rate the Weld star as Hurricane Fly’s biggest threat in ante-post betting and Unaccompanied could end up being the sole mare in Sunday’s big race.

Voler La Vedette may sidestep Sunday’s feature and run instead over three miles at Gowran on Thursday. Ground conditions at Leopardstown yesterday were “good” and trainer Colm Murphy believes his versatile Grade One winner needs softer going to take on Hurricane Fly over two miles.

The ground at Gowran is currently more testing and the Grade Two John Mulhern Galmoy Hurdle is being strongly considered for Voler La Vedette. “Looking at the current conditions at each track, the race at Gowran is very much a strong possibility,” Murphy said yesterday.

“We haven’t made a final decision – a lot will depend on the ground.”