Europe in good shape for Champion

Mar 3 2008 by Chris Wright, Liverpool Daily Post

HENRY DE BROMHEAD reported favourite Sizing Europe to be on course for the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival a week tomorrow.

The six-year-old worked on Sunday morning and will have one more serious practice before the two-mile feature contest.

The winner of the AIG Irish Champion Hurdle on his last outing is a best-priced 9-4 with Sportingbet to double up at the Festival.

His Irish trainer De Bromhead said: “He’s good, he’s in great form and he rode out this morning. He looks in good form at the moment so we’re happy with him, he looks well. We’ll probably do something some day early this week and then that’ll be about it.

“We’ll send him over maybe Saturday evening or Sunday morning and he’s pretty fit.”

More than 40 Irish horses worked at Leopardstown after racing yesterday ahead of the Festival.

They included dual Champion Hurdle winner Hardy Eustace.

Trainer Dessie Hughes’s 11-year-old worked under Conor O’Dwyer but whether he runs in the Champion or the three-mile World Hurdle has yet to be decided.

But Hughes said it was 60-40 he would head for the Ladbrokes World Hurdle for which he is a best-priced 12-1 with the sponsors.