Boylesports.com International Hurdle at Cheltenham Tips

Saturday's boylesports.com-sponsored card at Cheltenham is a cracking one, featuring races not only rich in class, but also extremely intriguing. The International Hurdle is a case in point, a contest which sees dual champion hurdle hero Hardy Eustace tackle the champion elect, Detroit City. There can be no doubt that the latter, who landed last season's Triumph Hurdle, is a top-class horse and it was hard not to be impressed with his fine weight-carrying performance when brushing his rivals aside in the Greatwood Hurdle on the Old Course here on his reappearance last month. However, I personally think it's ridiculous that he's priced up at 4/7, while Hardy Eustace can be backed at 15/8 with Paddy Power. The Irish raider does have to concede 4lb to the young pretender, but if his reappearance performance at Ascot on November 18 is anything to go by, Hardy Eustace is well and truly back in business. The nine-year-old disappointed for the most part last season, but all the enthusiasm and zest he had demonstrated in his three previous campaigns over timber were in evidence at Ascot where he was always travelling supremely well and he toyed with Mighty Man in the home straight, cruising home to beat that rival by a resounding 11 lengths. Given the emphatic nature of that victory, and that beating Mighty Man in such a manner is no mean feat, I am shocked that bookmakers have perceived Detroit City's superiority to be such that he should be such cramped odds. Furthermore, the soft going is perfect for Hardy Eustace, whereas Philip Hobbs' charge is unproven on a surface more testing than good to soft. Don't get me wrong, Detroit City is just four-years-old and is open to plenty of improvement. His victory in the Cesarewitch on the level in October underlined how much he has progressed since joining Hobbs. But he faces his stiffest test to date against the selection, and under the prevailing conditions he might have to settle for second best this time. Crow Wood has no chance on this going - he's essentially a top-of-the-ground performer - while Arcalis didn't shape at all badly in the "Fighting Fifth" at Newcastle a fortnight ago, but his profile is that of a regressive horse, and he looks vulnerable against the two top-notchers. Verdict: 2pts Hardy Eustace @ 15/8 (Paddy Power)