Cleeve on the agenda for Long Walk winner Champ
- Planet Sport writer
- 19 January 2022
Impressive Long Walk Hurdle winner Champ looks like staying over hurdles for the time being, with a tilt at the Welsh Marches Stallions At Chapel Stud Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham up next.
Pulled up in last year's Cheltenham Gold Cup, he had back surgery during the summer and whatever was wrong that day over fences certainly appeared not to trouble him at Ascot in December.
That day, despite being easy enough to back, he reminded us why he had already been a Grade 1 winner over hurdles, producing a career-best in that discipline to beat Thyme Hill by almost two lengths. Into the bargain he gave jockey Jonjo O'Neill junior a first elite level win.
The JP McManus-owned gelding, named of course after former multiple champion jockey Sir Anthony McCoy, has only been to the racecourse 16 times in his career, winning on 10 occasions.
While he has been given a Gold Cup entry, the 10-year-old is currently second favourite for the Stayers' Hurdle at around the 4-1 mark.
Henderson said: "At the moment Champ is going to the Cleeve, which sort of suggests he will be going to the Stayers' Hurdle, but nothing is ever set in stone.
"But at the moment, that is probably the answer."
