Fly shortens for Champion Hurdle despite not racing this term
Posted on | February 2, 2012 | No Comments
The Willie Mullins-trained Hurricane Fly has been trimmed in price at the head of the ante-post market for the Stan James Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival on March 13 despite not having set foot on a racecourse since May last year and ahead of his expected return to action at Leopardstown at the end of January, writes Elliot Slater.
The top-class son of Montjeu was cut from a best price of 9/4 to a general offer of 15/8, (although some firms now go as short as 13/8), to retain the crown he won in 2011 when defeating Peddlers Cross in a superb race for the hurdling title, following the horse racing betting news that the ante-post third-favourite Spirit Son has met with a not insignificant setback and is highly unlikely to make the race and could be out for the rest of the season.
Hurricane Fly himself has been the subject of plenty of speculation this season as to his wellbeing and has something to prove at Leopardstown in the BHP Irish Champion Hurdle on January 29 to satisfy observers that he remains in the sort of form that saw him go through last term unbeaten, winning five times including the Cheltenham title and also at the Punchestown Festival seven weeks later when accounting for stable companion and subsequent French Champion Hurdle winner Thousand Stars by five lengths in the Grade 1 Rabobank Champion Hurdle in May.
After missing both his intended comeback races in the Morgiana Hurdle and the Istabraq Festival Hurdle just before New Year, Mullins’ star has reportedly come back to his best and been working in fine style, news that filtered through quickly racing betting tips and layers who have cut him from odds as big as 11/4 in late-December to his current mark.
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