Looking Ahead to the 2012 World Hurdle

It's quite difficult to get a quality price on Big Bucks and that shouldn't come as a big surprise to any National Hunt observers as the #1 hurdler on the planet is being backed across the board as the odds-on favourite for the 2012 Ladbroke World Hurdle.

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The eight-year-old son of Cadoudal (the same sire as the current #1 chaser Long Run) is set for another big year for the Nicholls yard and the highly-competitive Henri Poulat-trained helding is set to finally become a millionaire should he win a single race this season.

Undefeated since unseating Sam Thomas in the Hennessy Gold Cup Chase a few years ago (losing to none other than Madison Du Berlais), his incredible run of 12 wins in a row is still live heading into this season after scores in the Ladbroke and the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree.

Both victories came over Grands Crus and he was actually out for a spin at Auteil in June, finishing a disappointing sixth place in a Grade 1 contest with McCoy taking the irons for the first time. Expect a switch back to Tom Scudamore as he looks to stay hurdling for David Pipe.

There is a very wide range of prices available on Grands Crus for the World Hurdle – anywhere from 11/2 to 10/1 is currently being floated while Oscar Whisky looks interesting to some with a range of 5/1 to 10/1.

Thousand Stars is also in the mix for this one with a 7/1 to 10/1 range.

This one is significantly less competitive than the chasing category – such is the dominance of the living-legend Big Bucks.  

Look for several other key contenders to step up later on in the year - though you may also want to watch for someone switchover from the chasing circuit if you're out there looking for a lot of extra value or you need an excuse to go against Big Bucks.