Ruby Walsh will partner Hurricane Fly in tomorrow’s Stan James Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and his chances look good with reigning title-holder Binocular pulled out.
Day One of the Festival will see Walsh attempt to fill the one glaring gap in his big-race CV by landing the Champions Hurdle on board the Willie Mullins star.
The task now looks a little easier as the JP McManus-owned Binocular was taken out of the Champion Hurdle at the final declaration stage.
Trainer Nicky Henderson reported that medication taken for an allergy problem in the last fortnight hasn’t cleared the horse’s system.
“Binocular had an allergy two weeks ago that did not respond to initial medication and, on veterinary advice, and well within normal parameters, he required a further treatment the following day,” Henderson said.
“As we were getting close to the most important race of the year, and also because since that administration to Binocular, another horse had tested positive for the same substance, I thought it prudent to take a precautionary test which, not only surprisingly, let alone devastatingly, has also shown to be positive.”
Menorah is now the marginal favourite for the feature event on Day One at a general price of 3/1, with Hurricane Fly trading at around 7/2 with most bookmakers.
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