Cheltenham Festival ace Cole Harden set for latest run over fences

Cole Harden, a front-running winner of the Stayers' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2015, will make his first appearance over fences since his chasing debut in December at Ffos Las on Tuesday.

Warren Greatrex's stable star was sent off favourite at Wetherby that day, but was beaten seven lengths by Its'afreebee after making a series of errors in the race.

Switched back to hurdles immediately after that run, the eight-year-old's best performance last season was a second-placed finish behind Unowhatimeanharry in the Grade 2 Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham in January.

Cole Harden will line up against three rivals in the 3m contest, which includes Alf 'N' Dor, Our Reward and Sir Ivan, and Greatrex is looking forward to seeing his representative reappear over fences.

He said: "He's been running near to his best over hurdles and he schooled very well on Friday. Wetherby wasn't a disaster when he made his debut over fences, he came up against a decent horse and it was his first run of last season.

"He did really well for most of last season and it's a case of keeping him going. It's common knowledge that he has issues, but we're doing the best we can to help him physically.

"Ffos Las will be a lovely track for Cole Harden and even though he hasn't won for a couple of years, hopefully we can get a confidence boost into him and go on from there."

3.20 Ffos Las card