OpinionTom Segal
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This leading Cheltenham Festival fancy must be opposed - he won't be strong or classy enough

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Cheltenham's Trials day card took place on Saturday
Cheltenham's Trials day card took place on SaturdayCredit: Edward Whitaker

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There was a time when the Champion Hurdle regularly went to horses who had started their careers on the Flat. Kribensis, Royal Gait, Alderbrook, Collier Bay, Make A Stand and, most famously of all, Istabraq won eight of the 11 runnings between 1990 and 2000, but now I wouldn't go near an ex-Flat horse for any of the two-mile hurdles at Cheltenham, especially one who has run in Britain or Ireland.

Hurricane Fly in 2013 was the last winner of the great race to have started on the Flat, while Labaik in 2017 was the most recent Supreme winner to have won on the Flat and before that it was Ebaziyan in 2007. 

The Triumph has a better record with recent winners Farclas, Burning Victory and Vauban having run on the Flat in France, but still the recent evidence is that French-bred jumps horses are the way to go – although Pentland Hills won in 2019 having run on the Flat in Britain and Goshen would have done likewise the following year but for his dramatic exit at the last.

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Published on inTom Segal

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