'Any criticism of him is surely harsh' - Graeme Rodway on Cleeve favourite Champ

Saturday: 3.05 Cheltenham
Welsh Marches Stallions At Chapel Stud Cleeve Hurdle (Grade 2) | 3m | 5yo+ | ITV/RTV

There has been a lot of sneering and sniggering about the quality, or lack of it, among the British hurdlers this campaign and the fact a ten-year-old ex-chaser has recorded the best performance of the season over hurdles in Britain has been used as a stick to beat them.

Champ is the ex-chaser in question, but any criticism of him is surely harsh. Yes, he might have been top class over fences in recent seasons, but he was arguably a better hurdler. His record over hurdles reads 6-8 and two seconds, compared with 3-6 and one second in chases.

Furthermore, Champ beat a bona-fide Grade 1 hurdler at Ascot in Thyme Hill, who was a length and three-quarters behind and is a specialist at this discipline. His hurdles record reads 10-16 with four seconds, and four of those victories were achieved in Grade 1s.

Thyme Hill was awarded an RPR of 162 for that second in the Long Walk behind Champ, which is just 1lb below his career best and the second-best performance from a hurdler in Britain this season. All of which suggests Champ is a lot better than just an ageing ex-chaser.

He is also already better than the majority of recent winners of this race. An RPR of 165 would have been good enough to match at least every winner of the last nine runnings bar the great Big Buck's (173 in 2012), Thistlecrack (172 in 2016) and Paisley Park (172 in 2019).

So stop sniggering and start believing because the British do have a top-class hurdler and his name is Champ. The bigger question is: do connections want him to prove it by winning the Stayers' Hurdle, or would they rather take their chances in another Gold Cup?

That might depend on what happens 35 minutes earlier when Chantry House, who carries the same colours of owner JP McManus, again for Nicky Henderson, goes on trial for the Gold Cup in the Cotswold Chase and he has lots to prove after being pulled up in the King George.

Everyone would rather win a Gold Cup than a Stayers' Hurdle, but Champ is a lot closer to winning a Stayers' Hurdle than a Gold Cup on RPRs. He is 3lb shy of the median RPR of 168 of all Stayers' winners in the last ten years, but is 8lb off the average Gold Cup winner.

An RPR of 165 would have won three of the last five Stayers' Hurdles too, with only Paisley Park and last year's winner Flooring Porter higher (both 168).

If connections let logic prevail and heads rule the hearts, we may just be looking at something elusive and something that was non-existent in 2021 – a British winner of a championship race and a hurdles one, at that.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

Henderson hoping for another dazzling Champ display

Nicky Henderson is taking nothing for granted with new Stayers' Hurdle favourite Champ as he attempts to cement his leading Cheltenham Festival claims and give himself a first win in the Cleeve Hurdle.

Champ's career could have derailed after being pulled up in last year's Gold Cup, but the ten-year-old roared back to his best with an impressive victory in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot last month under Jonjo O'Neill Jr, who retains the partnership.

With Champ's chief Stayers' Hurdle rival Klassical Dream having fluffed his lines in the Galmoy Hurdle on Thursday, Henderson is both excited and cautious about unleashing his rejuvenated star once more, and solidifying his status as a leading hurdler.

"He was fantastic at Ascot, right back to his best," he said. "We're staying over hurdles because he really enjoyed it, and travelled and jumped supremely well. To be honest, he looked all over the race the whole way through.

"He's got to do it again. Nothing is easy or taken for granted, but if he does that again, then he'll have a great chance and we'll see where that takes us. Ground doesn't matter to him; that's a sign of a very good horse."

Curtis eager for change of luck with Lisnagar

Rebecca Curtis hopes first-time cheekpieces will spark Lisnagar Oscar back into the form that saw him land the 2020 Stayers' Hurdle as he returns to the scene of his greatest triumph.

The nine-year-old's rise to the top began when he finished third in the Cleeve two years ago behind Paisley Park before his shock 50-1 Stayers' success, but he has failed to win in eight starts since then, including being pulled up in the Long Walk Hurdle last month.

Lisnagar Oscar: Rebecca Curtis hopes a return to Cheltenham will help her 2020 Stayers' Hurdle heroCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"He's been disappointing on his last couple of runs but he's a funny horse," said Curtis. "He can have in-and-out form up to Christmas, then bounce back from now on, and he loves Cheltenham.

"We worked him under cheekpieces at home and did really well. Champ will be hard to beat, but there are no excuses. We'd be hopeful of a better run than last time and everything's been perfect at home."

What they say

Paul Nicholls, trainer of McFabulous
He's improved since his last run and ran very well there. He needed it but stayed on well and the big plus for him is he loves good ground. Champ is the one to beat but if you're not in it, you can't win it.

Emma Lavelle, trainer of Paisley Park
He's in really good order, but frustratingly you'd love the ground to be softer. It is what it is and I'm really happy with him. He's a real battler and needs to keep going to races, so not having this last year wasn't helpful. It's great to have it back and hopefully he's going to run a big one.

Fergal O'Brien, trainer of Dandy Mag
It's a huge task for him but he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. He's very high in the handicap and isn't the biggest, so we thought we'd chuck him in here and see how he goes. We'll try and mop up a bit of prize-money.
Reporting by Matt Rennie

Read more Saturday previews . . .

1.55 Cheltenham: 'He's in the form of his life' – Milton Harris bullish about Jacamar

2.30 Cheltenham: 'He's got to come through this' – D-day for big Gold Cup hope Chantry House

2.45 Doncaster: will the River Don prove an 'easy route' for Unanswered Prayers?

3.20 Doncaster: Fusil Raffles and Cap Du Nord among leading fancies in wide-open Sky Bet Chase

3.40 Cheltenham: does Nicky Henderson hold winning formline in clash of two potential stars?

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