Champion Hurdle winner Buveur D'Air set for Apple's Jade clash
Champion Hurdle hero Buveur D'Air will face a maximum of six rivals if he makes his eagerly anticipated comeback in the Unibet Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on Saturday.
It could be the first step towards a possible heavyweight clash with Faugheen at Cheltenham in March after the 2015 champion looked right back to his best when returning from a long absence to win in style at Punchestown this month.
All has gone well in Buveur D'Air's preparation for Saturday's race which included a spin around Newbury last week.
Bookmakers make him a general 4-11 shot to make a winning return, where his rivals could include Irving, who would be bidding for his third win in the race, and last year's runner-up Apple Jade.
The Paul Nicholls-trained Irving, who is joint-second favourite at 7-1, has become something of a Fighting Fifth regular as this would be his fourth run in the £110,000 event. He won it in 2014, ran poorly when sixth of seven in 2015 but bounced back to beat Apple's Jade by a nose in a thrilling finish last season.
However, Apple's Jade, who is also quoted at 7-1, could not be in better form for Saturday's race having won at Navan this month.
Evan Williams confirmed on Monday that his progressive handicapper John Constable will take his chance, although he admits that the six-year-old faces a stiff task.
He said: "It's a huge step up in class, but he's earned the chance to run in a Grade 1. He's in good order and I'll be over the moon if he finishes in the first four."
Although John Constable has shown his best form on good ground, his trainer added: "I'm more worried about the other horses than the going."
He is fourth favourite at 10-1 with William Hill and last season's Fred Winter winner Flying Tiger is a 25-1 shot with the same firm.
The going at Newcastle is soft, good to soft in places and that is unlikely to change appreciably before Saturday.
Clerk of the course James Armstrong said on Monday: "We had 30mm of rain last week but it has been dry since Thursday. The outlook for this week is a bit unclear, we might get a bit of rain on Thursday evening, but the forecast is for it to be mainly dry so hopefully it should dry out a little by Saturday."
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