Epatante thriving ahead of her attempt to regain Christmas Hurdle crown
Outstanding mare Epatante is "back in a good place" and thriving ahead of her Boxing Day Christmas Hurdle quest according the trainer Nicky Henderson.
You wouldn't want to see the Epatante that was at Kempton last year, I think she was uncomfortable before the race and she didn't jump with her normal accuracy and speed.
"It was nice to finally tick that box (of a top-level winner over jumps), but we have not had too many opportunities to win a Grade 1," he said.
"Marble Arch finishing second in the 2002 Champion Hurdle was very exciting, but to get that Grade 1 is a nice addition to the roster. At Cheltenham he was the second best of the British-trained horses in the Champion Hurdle when he finished fifth.
"The nice thing about winning the Fighting Fifth was that it showed that we were not tilting at windmills in those Grade 1 races."
Successful in the Grade 2 Adonis Juvenile Hurdle at Kempton, the four-year-old disappointed in the Triumph Hurdle at the Festival and ran twice afterwards on the Flat.
Tom Lacey's Glory And Fortune is broadly the outsider of the field and takes a significant step up in class after his recent runs in Grade 3 and handicap company.