Cheltenham Champions Hurdle Betting Preview

This season's Champion Hurdle has an open look to it and while Brave Inca is a worthy favourite on what he has achieved, I wouldn't be rushing to back him at the generally available 7/4. He's a tough cookie and, following the untimely death of Lingo, JP McManus is unlikely to have a runner in the race, leaving another tough cookie, AP McCoy, free to partner Brave Inca, whom he has established a good rapport with. It is worth remembering, however, that there are grounds on which one can quite easily pick significant holes in the eight-year-old's form. Firstly, Harchibald was badly hampered when third to Brave Inca at Punchestown in November, and that same horse wasn't suited by the testing conditions when three lengths second to Colm Murphy's charge at Leopardstown a month later. Sure, Brave Inca won fair and square when one length too good for Macs Joy in the AIG Europe Champion Hurdle at the latter track on January 29, but the feature of that race was the lacklustre performance of reigning champion Hardy Eustace, who finished a well-beaten last of the seven runners, rather than that of the victory of his heir apparent. Hardy Eustace is hard to fancy in his bid to complete a momentous hat-trick of Champion Hurdles, even if he does bounce back by winning at Gowran Park in the interim, and with Harchibald and Feathard Lady out of the picture, it would not surprise me in the least if we are treated to a bit of a shock on March 14. To my mind, the one most likely to deliver the surprise is Al Eile, who looks massively overpriced at 16/1 with PaddyPower Don't forget, John Queally's charge demonstrated the requisite class and turn-of-foot to beat Inglis Drever in the Grade One Aintree Hurdle at last year's Grand National meeting, a race in which Brave Inca held every chance when falling at the third-last. Admittedly, Al Eile was readily outpointed when seventh in last year's Champion Hurdle, but he was only a five-year-old at that point, and all the evidence available suggests that he's getting better. He may have been a shade fortuitous to beat Mister McGoldrick at Haydock on January 21, as the latter made a bit of a hash of the last flight when seemingly holding sway. However, even had he lost, that wouldn't have been a bad effort on Al Eile's part, given that he was making his seasonal reappearance, conceding 8lb to the eventual runner-up, and wasn't as well suited to the testing conditions as Mister McGoldrick. Al Eile will be comparatively fresh compared to some of his rivals on Champion Hurdle day and I can't see him finishing out of the frame. Arcalis, last year's Supreme Novices' Hurdle hero, impressed when landing the Fighting Fifth Hurdle on his reappearance, but disappointed and was found to be lame in Al Eile's race at Haydock. If on song, he'll be a threat to all, but Howard Johnson's horses are running poorly at present and, unless the stable hits form in the run up to the Festival, I'd be inclined to take a watching brief where his runners are concerned. Penzance and Faasel, first and second respectively in last year's Triumph Hurdle, both have each-way claims, but neither look good enough to play a major role in my opinion.