Champion Hurdle Preview

Of all the races this Cheltenham Festival, I think’s it’s the Champion Hurdle that has me licking my chops this year. It’s very rare that we get a chance to see a hurdler as good as Hurricane Fly. By the way, if you want to give him a nickname, the shrewdies say “The Fly” not “The Hurricane”.

The old-timers are whispering that this kid is the best hurdler since Istabraq. Well I’m going to go one further and say that he might be even better than the mighty Isatbraq. This horse has it all: raw power, turn of foot, all the gears, guts, the heart of a lion. The way he dusted off a quality field last year was awesome to behold.

Having said all that, I’m not going to have my big bet on him. For value in this year’s Champion Hurdle, I’m going to turn to the riddle wrapped in a puzzle wrapped in an enigma: the mercurial Binocular.

Binocular is a flaky sort. Some days he turns up and makes the game look as easy as shelling peas. Sometimes he turns up and looks like a novice. Sometimes he doesn’t turn up at all.

Having said all that, when Binocular turns on the jets there are very few horses that can live with him. As such, I’m having a big bet on him to win without The Fly at 3-1.

I’m not interested in taking on a wonder-horse, so I feel that this is the best way to get with him. The only real danger seems to be Zarkander, a horse clearly not in Binocular’s class and yet, bizarrely, around the same price. Those bookmakers… are they ‘aving a laugh?

So follow me in on Binocular and let’s hope The Fly wins (for the sake of the sport) and Binocular comes second (for the sake of our pockets).