An keenly anticipated Champion, even more so than usual given the twists and turns of the division throughout the season, and it went beyond expectations to a large boundary, Binocular’s performance the best in the race since Rooster Booster in 2003, and there’s no reason to question the result; Celestial Halo ensured a excellent dash, immediately stringing them aptly out, and it eased only briefly mid-race (time around three seconds quicker than the Supreme), whilst those immediately behind are solid and established high-class hurdlers; Cyclone Glide was the only notable truant. “He travelled and jumped with all of the enthusiasm that had been lacking in the Fighting Fifth and Christmas Hurdle, picking his way through the pack with ease and showing a sharp turn of speed when McCoy pressed on hitting the front two out.” Binocular belatedly produced the top-class performance he’d promised last season, putting his disappointing start to this campaign (his connections had at the start ruled him out of Cheltenham after Sandown) behind him in the best possible way, and, now clearly aptly back to himself, he could easily be a dominating force in the two mile division, certainly judging by the style of this, and he is only a 6-y-o; he travelled and jumped with all of the enthusiasm that had been lacking in the Fighting Fifth and Christmas Hurdle, picking his way through the pack with ease and showing a sharp turn of speed when McCoy pressed on hitting the front two out; it was perhaps a wise choice by connections to keep him away from the paddock until very late, as consequently he wasn’t so edgy as usual in the preliminaries (still slightly warm/on toes). Khyber Kim has developed more than any of these this season, backing up his two wins here towards the end of last year with this brilliant try up over Over again in grade, and he should have his day at this level at some stage, his performance excellent enough to have won some recent runnings of this; whilst Binocular was too strong he in turn stood out from the remainder, cruising through from the rear as that one had, and maintaining his proximity after the last for all he was never going to get there. Zaynar is a high-class hurdler, though one who looks ideally suited by further than two miles, certainly when conditions aren’t testing, seemingly having his limitations exposed here, likely aided by the dash, also a positive ride and the reapplication of cheekpieces (which he’d worn earlier only when winning Triumph), lacking the gears of the first two from the second last: the two-and-a-half mile Grade 1 at Aintree could well be on his agenda. Celestial Halo has failed to show his best in two starts since the turn of the year, though this certainly wasn’t as flat as he’d been at Leopardstown, doing too much if anything as he went enthusiastically in front with blinkers applied, battling as usual once headed two out, too. Starluck has established himself as a very smart hurdler this season and may yet do better still, long striking as one ideally suited by a sharp track, looming up with typical menace approaching two out here, failing to see equipment out fully up the hill yet still achieving more than earlier. Solwhit is bound to bounce back and win more top races, with a defence of his Aintree Hurdle presumably on the agenda, clearly not himself on the back of an interrupted preparation here (reported to have scoped soil last week). Medermit’s defeat of Punjabi in January was rather devalued by that one’s performance here and, whilst there’s no unbelieving his status as a very smart hurdler, that’s probably as excellent as he is, found wanting as equipment really took shape from two out
