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McCain Targets Rabobank Champion Hurdle with Overturn
20/04/12

Cheshire trainer Donald McCain yesterday revealed that Overturn, runner-up in this season’s Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, is set to travel over to Punchestown for the Grade One Rabobank Champion Hurdle next Friday (April 27) when he will take on the brilliant Hurricane Fly, winner of the two-mile showpiece for the past two years.

Overturn
© racing-images.co.uk

Overturn

Overturn has been in tremendous form this season, bagging his first Grade One win in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle in November prior to placed efforts in the International Hurdle at Cheltenham, Christmas Hurdle at Kempton and Champion Hurdle last time out.

“We are looking at the Rabobank Champion Hurdle with Overturn,” McCain revealed today. “He has been fine since Cheltenham and is working away nicely. We purposely skipped Aintree to go to Punchestown and providing the ground is OK he will run.”

Other possibles for the Ireland’s hurdling showpiece include last year’s runner-up and Hurricane Fly’s stablemate, Thousand Stars, who was narrowly beaten into second in Saturday’s Grade One Aintree Hurdle at Liverpool.

The Noel Meade-trained Go Native, who has not been seen since being sent off favourite for the 2010 Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, could make his eagerly-awaited reappearance in the Rabobank Champion Hurdle while Dermot Weld could run the high-class mare Unaccompanied.

 

FERGUSON BIDS FOR FIRST GRADE ONE

Sheikh Mohammed’s bloodstock advisor John Ferguson has enjoyed a great season in his burgeoning second career as a jump trainer and the icing on the cake could come with a first Grade One success at Punchestown.

Ferguson has revealed that New Year’s Eve, who finished a close second when sent off favourite for the Champion Bumper at last month’s Cheltenham Festival, could line up in the Grade One betchronicle.com Champion INH Flat Race at Punchestown on Wednesday, April 25.

“New Year’s Eve has been very well since Cheltenham and he could run at Punchestown in the betchronicle.com Champion INH Flat Race,” said Ferguson.

“He ran very well at Cheltenham and I’m looking forward to him running again. He was a four-year-old running against older horses and time will tell whether or not Punchestown suits him better than Cheltenham.”

New Year’s Eve headed to Cheltenham on the back of hugely-impressive bumper victories on his previous two outings at Ludlow and Market Rasen.

Pique Sous
© Caroline Norris

Pique Sous
Entries for the betchronicle.com Champion INH Flat Race close at the six-day stage on Thursday, April 19, and other possible starters include the Willie Mullins-trained Pique Sous, who finished a head behind New Year’s Eve at Cheltenham.

The card on Wednesday, April 25, is headed by thetote.com Punchestown Gold Cup, won last season by Follow The Plan.

Oliver McKiernan’s charge was also on the scoresheet at Aintree where he won the Grade One Betfred Bowl, beating Cheltenham Gold Cup fourth Burton Port by three lengths, and he bids to become the first dual winner of thetote.com Punchestown Gold Cup since Saturday’s Grand National winner Neptune Collonges, who scored at Punchestown in 2007 and 2008.

Other Aintree winners who may be bound for Punchestown include the Paul Nicholls-trained Edgardo Sol, who took the Grade Three Red Rum Handicap Chase by 14 lengths, and the Philip Hobbs-trained Menorah who could run in the Grade One Ryanair Novice Chase on Thursday, April 26, following his victory in the Grade One Manifesto Novices’ Chase last week.

The 2012 Irish National Hunt Festival runs from Tuesday, April 24, to Saturday, April 28, and includes top-class racing on each day with a total of 11 Grade One contests.

 

LATEST GOING

The hurdle and chase track is currently good to soft and the cross country is good.

The weather is forecast to remain unsettled with a further 10mm of rain likely by next weekend.

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