Cheltenham Festival heroine in 2019 and the leading staying hurdler that season, who went seven races unbeaten in the 2018/19 season for the great owner Andrew Gemmell is looking to get back to form and win this coming Friday in a race that he won back in 2019.
He has been a mixed bag recently since his Cleeve Hurdle win in January 2020, running six times and only winning once in the Grade 1 Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot in December 2020.
He showed his true staying powers to just prevail ahead of Thyme Hill, but did slightly disappoint in the Stayers Hurdle at the Festival in 2021 and pulling up at Aintree in April after a few issues which were reported from the trainer.
He had a good comeback run at Wetherby in October, finishing third out of eight runners only beaten by just over four lengths.
The rider said he needed the run to blow the cobwebs away and was a bit flatter than usual (He usually does hit a few flat spots in the race) but this was slightly more than usual, making the team confident he will come on wonders for the run.
He wears Cheekpieces for the first time in the race so here’s hoping this can help with that flat spot and keep his mind on the task at hand.
Leading stayer in 2018/19, decent come back run to blow the cobwebs away for this season but does need to bounce back to the winning way, leading player on previous form.