Don't forget Gibb river and Marsh Warbler were both stuffed in the supreme and have form which ties in with Brampour and Grandouet. The supreme horses who have gone chasing keep on franking the form. He also doesn't have the age stat against him. Only worry at this stage is that we haven't seen him this season yet.

What if you base the performance around Menorah? Overturn may have improved as he did beat Binocular recently who finished in front of him in the CH.

HF beat Overturn a long way at the festival, but Overturn clearly didn't run to form that day, unless you think he's barely a 160 hurdler. Overturn was overtaken by four horses before the home bend at Cheltenham, and was hampered on the turn.

A race like the Champion Hurdle doesn't suit him because he'll be hassled by classier types that stay well and can't come from off the pace. He clearly thrives on racing and was just beaten by a better horse today, and he was given his lead and allowed to dominate, I don't think Pittoni ever pressured him.

So yes, Overturn likely ran to form and that in my eyes gives Grandouet a good chance of troubling HF, although in my heart of hearts even if Grandouet improves I think HF will take some stopping. Grandouet has just proven that he's still on the improve. He was on the bridle jumping the last and battled up the hill.

It's comparable with HF/Solwhit imo. I can't see Solwhit going close in any Champion Hurdle as I don't think the race type suits him. HF will beat Solwhit 3 lengths every time in Ireland and does what he has to, put them in a Champion and the distance might be 15 lengths, but it doesn't mean HF has improved 12 lengths.

They knew what would happen with Overturn and rode the race accordingly. As every horse fell back, Grandouet crept in and took his position like a good horse. Showed tactical speed and came straight back onto the bridle when forced wide by Pittoni.

Brampour tracked Grandouet but couldn't match him at a crucial stage, he'll be very interesting over 2m4f.

But he isn't.

Grandouet has all of the attributes to becoming a Champion Hurdle horse. His improvement from this time last season is nothing short of astonishing. Looking back through his form he has literally improved in every race. Now he has still got a gap to matching the likes of Hurricane Fly and I would still say he needs to hurdle a touch faster but who is to say he won't improve again. Personally I am on Spirit Son at 14s but I am getting slightly impatient to see him on the track. Hurricane Fly doesn't need experience & he doesn't have to improve so one or two races before the festival will be fine. Spirit Son & Zarkandar need experience in open company and imo will have a lot to prove going into a Champ hurdle off the back of one run.

I was talking to a well known tv pundit after racing yesterday & he suggested that Brampours connections may have missed a great chance by not giving Ruby the ride, i think he has a fair point.

ruby is the no 1 jock and shouldve been on th horse, end of!

whats the point in have the best available if they are going to ride the 2nd string. thans not to say ruby couldve got the horse to win or even a better ride but it does blur the lines a little bit whe u have an inferior jockey, and he is inferior by some way given tht ruby is one of if not the greatest of all time, and the stable jock on the 2nd string!  trainers should be making these decisions, not owners and i dont care whose paying the bills, its just not right!

fwiw harry is a good lad and ride a perfectly good race but i just dont agree with it.

I wonder if RUBY was ever overlooked so that the stables number
one could ride, every body HAS to start somewhere and some never make it, but at least take a chance sometimes.
He did NOT do ANYTHING wrong, in fact I have never seen him ride a poor race where a big pot has been at stake, I would never go against him just because he is an apprentice, he seems to ride better than a lot of professionals who tootle along at the back and expect their horse to fly like Pegasus at the end of a race.
Ruby has been guilty of that over the years, I wrote a letter of complaint about it to P. NICHOLLS, never got a reply nor did he change his tactic on one horse until the Cheltenham Festival where the horse won for the first time that season.

HF
1000stars
Spirit Son

1. Spirit Son
2. Hurricane Fly
3. Thousand Stars

Very close Alex :)

* was not

Good point. Will the owners of TS want to take on a fit HF in the Champion, or would they want to take on BB in the World Hurdle.

Actually, it is a tough task whatever way you look at it.

I guess if Willie Mullins runs TS against HF in the Champion then there might be something in it.

I'm not sure that the form on Saturday was that good and its possible Overturn is better at 2 1/2m over hurdles. Will Grandouet get the same fastish conditions in the CH ? Is he a Harchibald type who travels well
but only does enough to win? . The big plus for Grandouet is that he appears to be improving all the time
and its difficult to know when it wll level out. Given how well Grandouet and Brampour have run this season you'd have to respect last years triumph hurdle form and it will be interesting to see how Zarkander gets on when he runs. If you take out Hur Fly the CH looks wide open to me. Personally I think HF is an exceptional
2m hurdler and if he turns up in any where near the form he was in last year I doubt anything will trouble him.
It's not impossible that HF might not even run before Cheltenham which would make it  a very diffcult race
for me to to get involved in, although I do already have an an Ante post bet on the race that is too embarrassing to mention as he may have asthma.

Tinkler hurricane Fly did NOT win the Champion Hurdle LAST year.

Just to clarify, Overturn & Grandouet both ran to 166.