Binocular back to his brilliant best in Kingwell

Report: Wincanton, Saturday

Bathwick Tyres Kingwell Hurdle (Grade 2 ) 2m, 4yo+

BINOCULAR made the most of his shock appearance at Wincanton on Saturday when he landed the Kingwell Hurdle under Tony McCoy.

Trained by Nicky Henderson, Binocular, who won the Champion Hurdle in 2010 but missed the race last year,stalked old-rival Celestial Halo and cruised past him on the run to the final hurdle.

The impressive manner of his victory prompted bookmakers to shorten the JP McManus-owned eight-year-old for the Champion Hurdle.

Paddy Power went 6-1 (from 10) and BetVictor offered 7-1 (from 8), but Ladbrokes are 9-2, although they were only 11-2 on Saturday morning.

A winner of the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton in December, Binocular was set to head straight tothe Cheltenham Festival with his stablemate and fellow Champion Hurdle contender Grandouet in line for the Kingwell.

However, Grandouet injured himself so Binocular came into the reckoning and produced a cracking performance.

"He did it well in the end," said McCoy. "I was always wanting to make it a race to give him a good blow as he's a bit of a stuffy horse. I wanted to make sure this race put him spot-on for Cheltenham."

William Hill left Binocular at 9-1 for the Champion and McCoy still thinks reigning champion Hurricane Fly will be hard to beat.

He added: "He responded well, but he still has plenty of ground to find with the likes of Hurricane Fly."

Celestial Halo, who finished in front of Binocular in the 2009 Champion Hurdle, held on for second with Starluck in third.