Cheltenham: 23 runners in Champion Hurdle!

The late defection of Harry de Bromhead´s Sizing Europe, last years beaten favourite, who is running a temperature, means that there now "only" 23 runners in the Champion Hurdle this afternoon at 16.20 CET, 8 of them trained in Ireland whose runners have dominated here this century. The field includes 4 past winners of the race, Hardy Eustace, Brave Inca, Sublimity and Katchit, but this time we expect a youngster to triumph, Nicky Henderson´s Binocular (Tony McCoy), who could start a great meeting for his owner JP McManus. Binocular was run out of it last year in the Supreme Novices Hurdle at this meeting, but seems much better this season and has won all his starts in convincing fashion, easily outspeeding Celestial Halo (Paul Nicholls/ Ruby Walsh) last time at Ascot. Expect McCoy to ride a patient waiting race and only hit the front about 150 yards out. Katchit is a CD specialist and beat Osana and Punjabi last year, but we expect front-runner Osana (David Pipe/ Andrew McNa mara) to come out best of this trio now. Old Harchibald, who will only run if the ground is not too soft, can never be left out, but we think that the 2007 winner Sublimity (Robbie Hennessy/ Philip Carberry) will come out best of the Irish. For those looking for a total outsider, we recommend Othermix (Paddy Brennan), whose trainer Tom George is enjoying a real purple patch.