Pentland Hills out to fill Seven Barrows void in International Hurdle

3.05 CheltenhamUnibet International Hurdle (Grade 2) | 2m1f, 4yo+ | ITV4/RTV

With two-time Champion Hurdle winner Buveur D'Air on the sidelines, there is a vacancy for a leading Cheltenham Festival contender at Seven Barrows and last season's star juvenile Pentland Hills has his audition in a race trainer Nicky Henderson has won five times.

Henderson has long had this race in mind for the Triumph Hurdle winner, who was no star on the Flat but landed a second Grade 1 at Aintree's Grand National meeting.

The four-year-old is joined by his smart stablemate Call Me Lord, the highest-rated runner in the field who was second in the Coral Hurdle last time and has his first start going left-handed in Britain.

But it is Pentland Hills, owned by Owners Group 031, who is the one attracting Champion Hurdle interest, with only Sadlier and Klassical Dream shorter in the betting than his general 7-1 odds.

Henderson said: "Pentland Hills is in great form, but so is Call Me Lord for that matter. Pentland Hills went to Newbury for a gallop recently and couldn't have done any more last season - he was top-class. This is where he joins in the pecking order with the older horses."

Pentland Hills, rated 73 on the Flat, did not make his debut over hurdles until Plumpton in February, but had already shown an appetite for the challenge.

Henderson said: "Henrietta Knight schooled him and told me after a week that he was the best she'd seen for yonks and she was dead right. He was brilliant. When he went to Plumpton he wasn't a green juvenile, he was like an arrow."

He added: "Call Me Lord is coming back to two miles, but most importantly we're also going left-handed. We've always been suspicious he wouldn't go left-handed and we just want to find out once and for all.

"He used to hang left-handed a lot at home and therefore we went right-handed, but he hasn't done that this season, so we'll try it. It could open a lot more doors and he is classy."

Elixir De Nutz: set for his first run of the seasonCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Elixir sets out on Champion trail

Colin Tizzard loves training staying chasers, but this week he said he was open to the idea of branching out on the Flat. He would also relish having a Champion Hurdle horse and Elixir De Nutz is set on that path.

A classy novice last term and successful in the Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle, he was fancied for the Supreme only for injury to intervene and hold him up.

Tizzard's son and assistant Joe said: "He's still showing his old spark before his injury and went for a racecourse gallop recently, where he went really nicely. He seems in lovely form and was a Grade 1 winner last season. We expect him to improve for the run, but he's ready to go."

What they say

Dan Skelton, trainer of Ch'tibello
A lot have stood their ground and we've got to take on Nicky's horses, but it can be hard for a second-season hurdler like Pentland Hills. This has been Plan A for us – in fact it's been the only plan – and he's ready.

Philip Hobbs, trainer of Gumball
On the face of it, he has it to do at the weights in this company, but he's very well within himself and should handle the conditions.

Richard Newland, trainer of Le Patriote
I was relatively happy with his run in the Coral Hurdle and he just got outstayed, so coming back to two miles is a positive. Hopefully, we can find out where we are with him, whether he's stuck at this mark and we go novice chasing or there's more mileage over hurdles. I'd like to think the latter is the case and he can be competitive.

Nigel Twiston-Davies, trainer of Ballyandy
He's always had plenty of speed and any rain will help him.

Lizzie Kelly, rider of Monsieur Lecoq
If he runs a good race we'll be delighted. It looks more competitive than the Greatwood, but he runs well at Cheltenham. We were pleased with him last time, although gutted to get beaten. I think there's more to come and I'll look for more cover than I got last time, but he's always eager to get on with things.

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