Williams to roll the dice again with Elite Hurdle winner London Prize

Running London Prize eight days after his Elite Hurdle win is a risk worth taking according to trainer Ian Williams, whose six-year-old was trimmed into as short as 15-2 for the Unibet Greatwood Hurdle on Sunday.

The well-being of London Prize since his Wincanton win has convinced Williams he is ready to tackle Cheltenham’s £100,000 contest in which he shoulders a 5lb penalty, the amount his handicap mark is set to rise after the race.

Williams said: “London Prize has been well in himself and it’s great to see him come out of the race as well as he has done.

"It’s always a risk running horses back so soon, but the signs are all positive and London Prize has convinced us to run, not the other way round. We’ve not been forced into running by the handicapper putting him up a huge amount and he’s going because we think it’s the right thing to do.

"His owner Margaret Forsyth isn’t available to come racing on Sunday, and that factored into our thinking, but the horse has given us the signs that he’s well and ready to run again."

Kylemore Lough was on Friday the top-priced 6-1 favourite for the BetVictor Gold Cup on Saturday, where he will face a maximum of 17 rivals.

Cheltenham racecourse viewed from Cleeve HillCredit: Patrick McCann

The meeting will get under way on good to soft ground for both the chase and hurdle courses, with no appreciable rain expected on either of the first two days.

"There may be a touch of frost Thursday into Friday and then it's dry Friday and Saturday with the possibility of some rain later on Sunday," said director of racing Simon Claisse.

"It's been misty in the mornings through the week and, whereas on Monday I was telling people that I could see good in the description on the chase and hurdle track by the end of the week, we haven't got there yet, with about two millimetres of rain through the week just keeping it where it was. The cross country course is good."