2010 CHAMPION HURDLE AT CHELTENHAM ANTE POST GUIDE AND TIPS

Without a doubt, one of the absolute belters we expect to see at the 2010 Cheltenham Festival is going to be the Champion Hurdle. According to the betting odds offered up by UK bookmakers, there is no clear favourite, but recent polls indicate that punters will be piling on to the respected jumper Go Native in this race which runs on the first day of the festival.
Noel Meade’s 7 year-old brown gelding by Double Eclipse out of Native Idea is boasting a very solid 1211 coming into this race with victories in multiple graded stakes including the prestigious Fighting Fifth Hurdle and the William Hill Christmas Hurdle. These two last triumphs in particular are key races as a number of the horses beaten by Go Native will be back out again for the Champion Hurdle. Binocular and Tony McCoy have been absolutely put in their place by Go Native this year and victories over Sublimity and Solwhit belie confidence from punters across the board. You’ll find Go Native trading at a range of 4 (Paddy Power) to 13/2 (SportingBet).
Zaynar is also a popular selection and he has been laid as low as 3/1 (Victor Chandler) while trading as high as 5/1 (Ladbrokes, William Hill). He has dropped in price over the past few weeks and you can trace that primarily to his victory over the Cheltenham surface on December 12th when he bested a field of 6 in the Grade 2 Unicoin Homes Relkeel Hurdle when he went off as the 1/5 favourite. His mid-November victory in the Coral Ascot Hurdle was a bit more impressive, in my opinion, as he had to best the talented Karabak (joint 9/4 favourites) and the respected Katchit. Zaynar boasts an excellent record for a 5 year-old and Nicky Henderson’s charge could make a major declaration this year at Cheltenham. The win in last year’s JCB Triumph Hurdle against a field of 18 is the ace up your sleeve here- he’s a Grade 1 winner and can handle large fields and the Cheltenham surface.
Dunguib does not look set for a run here in this race, although some bookmakers don’t seem to have figured that out yet. Paddy Power is listing Dunguib at a slim 4/1 (making him their favourite) while BetFred has him trading at a lengthy 16/1. His excellent record is marred by the DSQ in the Paddy Power Champion INH Flat Race at Punchestowns last April when he tested positive for a banned substance. He’s got a grade 1 under the belt this year, but we don’t expect to see him in the Champion Hurdle.
Solwhit has three runs to his credit this season and, though he finished 3rd to Go Native in the Fighting Fifth, he bounced back for a Grade 1 win over Sublimity in the December Festival Hurdle at Leopardstown. He was off as the 8/11 favourite and didn’t disappoint. He certainly has the calibre to challenge for this race, but he will need the perfect trip. There are better horses than him in this race, but the confidence is clearly there- trading between a range of 4/1 (Boylesports) and 6/1 (Ladbrokes, William Hill).
The JP McManus-owned Binocular has been the bane of my tentofollow this season and many punters expected so much more from him so far this year. The big question over top of the whole race is whether Binocular will come good in the Champion Hurdle and make up for a very mediocre year by all accounts. He is 53 so far this season with two losses to Go Native. He will be a value play on the day, and he certainly has it in him to beat everyone in the race the only issue is whether he can rediscover last year’s form or not. He is trading between 7/1 and 8/1 with most major bookmakers.
Celestial Halo finished second in last year’s Champion Hurdle to Punjabi and he’ll be looking to get things back on track here. He couldn’t hold up to 12/1 Khyber Kim in the Boylesports International Hurdle when he was listed at 4/7 at the off. I think you can disregard that one and chock it up as a rare miss for Ruby Walsh. The Paul Nicholls’-owned jumper is well-priced and trades between 8/1 (SkyBet) and 10/1 (Bet365).
The last selection we’ll look at is last year’s winner Punjabi who has only been out once this season when he finished 4th to Khyber Kim in the aforementioned Boylesports International. He held on very very well last year when he won against a tough field of 23, but he has not demonstrated the type of proficiency he’ll need to best this field, at least not yet. Interestingly enough, he won the 2008 Fighting Fifth Hurdle before winning the Champion Hurdle. I have a feeling that it could be the reference race for this outing again. If so, that places Go Native as the stark favourite. If you’re looking to wager on Punjabi for back-to-back Champion Hurdle wins, you’re looking at prices ranging from 9/1 (SkyBet) to 12/1 (William Hill).
Early Tip: We’re still a long way off, but this one looks to be shaping into a battle between Zaynar and Go Native. A reverse forecast there would be worth the money. I’ll be examining the workouts of Celestial Halo and Binocular on the way in, and should both be priced right, they could be my each-way options.