Cheltenham test on the cards for hurdler owned by Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell after 'perfect' return

Givemefive, owned by a syndicate including Major-winning golfers Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell, is set to return at Cheltenham on Saturday for trainer Harry Derham, who hopes the four-year-old can scale new heights this season.

The £30,000 Masterson Holdings Hurdle on the second day of the track's Showcase meeting is the target for Givemefive and it promises to be a strong contest with Grade 2 winners Bottler'secret and Kalif Du Berlais among those entered alongside the unbeaten Rocheval, Triumph Hurdle third Salver and Royal Way, who is bidding for a four-timer.

Givemefive is owned by Smash Racing, a syndicate made up of LIV Golf colleagues Koepka and McDowell, who have six Majors between them, and Koepka's childhood friend Daniel Gambill. He won two of his four starts over hurdles last season and also finished three-quarters of a length behind Kalif Du Berlais in the Grade 2 Adonis Hurdle at Kempton.

Brooks Koepka (left) and Graeme McDowell

"He did really well last season," said Derham, whose involvement with the golf stars came about when he beat McDowell in a nearest-the-pin challenge in a pro-am.

"His Kempton run was very good and I think it was his best performance. He came back sick from Fairyhouse, but I'm not making an excuse because on the day he just wasn't good enough. It looks a pretty competitive race on Saturday so he'll have his work cut out.

"It's notoriously difficult for those four-turning-five-year-olds. A lot of them get to a decent level as juveniles but it's generally a pretty tough year for them. But he's a genuine horse and hopefully the best is still in front of him. It's all about trying to find the right races for him."

The three-time winner enjoyed a positive comeback run when he finished second in a Flat handicap at Haydock last month.

"It was perfect," Derham added. "All we wanted to do was to get him back on track and if someone said to me if I'd have taken that run then absolutely. He ran really well, but you could see in the last sort of half-furlong that he got tired. He ran a super race, though, and I was really pleased."

Derham, who has enjoyed a strong start to the season with four winners from his last 10 runners (40 per cent), will also saddle Kansas City Star at Cheltenham this weekend.

The seven-year-old, who won twice last season and made his return when sixth of seven at Kelso this month, will tackle the 3m1f handicap chase, and Derham said: "He's doing well and it looked like he wanted a step up in trip last time out and Bryan [Drew, owner] is keen for him to run there."

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