good weekend for my absent stars

Hardy Eustace franks Detroit City and Mighty Man.

By Richard Johnson

From a personal point of view I was very happy to see Hardy Eustace win the AIG Europe Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on Sunday.

I've ridden against him on his previous two starts, when second on Mighty Man at Ascot and then when Detroit City beat him at Cheltenham.

Admittedlly it was a small field for the Boylesport.com Internatonal Hurdle that day but in both races I felt Hardy Eustace looked fantastic.

He was very impressive at Ascot when I got a rear view of him on Mighty Man and it was a real achievement for Detroit City to beat him, don't forget we were in against a dual Champion Hurdle winner. Hardy Eustace has done it before and has proved he is as good as ever.

Dessie Hughes has been telling everyone the horse wasn't 100 per cent last year so for me I am hoping he proves a reliable formguide for the two major hurdling championships at the Festival.

Detroit City's win over Hardy Eustace at Cheltenham gave us the confidence we have a genuine Champion Hurdle contender on our hands.

It was only a four-runner race and while we didn't go very quickly, the faster the pace the more it will suit my horse.

We got racing at the end of the back straight, going up the hill, and I pulled away from Hardy Eustace before we were probably idling after the last allowing him to close up behind me.

I was very pleased with Detroit City that day, I couldn't knock him, he was faultless over the last four flights and is really getting the experience at the top level he needed.

Everything now gears up to the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle and hopefully he will have his final prep-race at the Agfa UK Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday.

That is another stepping stone but it is very hard to knock my horse at this stage.

Last season I felt he may be suited by a little further than two miles but this term he really seems to have strengthened up and come to himself.

Another factor in his favour is the juvenile form from last year is really standing up. Just look at what Fair Along and Blazing Bailey have gone on to do.

We may meet the likes of Harchiband and Straw Bear on Saturday but you have to take on whatever comes along and it is nice he has had a couple of runs under his belt this term. Quality opposition will help too as with him we have to give him a horse to race against.

We can't avoid the big guns, in the races he runs in we have to take on the good horses, but for me he has proved he deserves to be towards the top end of the Champion Hurdle market and fingers crossed Saturday goes okay and then we can look forward to March.

They say good horses go on any ground but Black Jack Ketchum really didn't handle the surface at Cheltenham on Saturday. AP said when he came back that Black Jack never felt like the horse he knows he is.

You can't knock Blazing Bailey after his impressive win in the Byrne Bros Cleeve Hurdle but at the same time don't write Black Jack Ketchum out of Ladbrokes World Hurdle contention either. It was tacky ground, heavy and hard work, and if it dries out by March we could see a very different result.

I beat Blazing Bailey on Mighty Man in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot so it was a good weekend for my two best hurdlers - without either leaving their box.

Mighty Man was improving all last year and has run two solid races this term. It is unlikely he will run again before the Festival because of the ground but I wouldn't be putting anyone off him if they fancy him for the World Hurdle.

The ground is the key though. I would want good or good to soft going for him, he definitely appreciates better ground.

Exotic Dancer is a horse who has improved all year and seems to have clicked. Maybe his attitude has improved or AP has found the art to him, he used to be very frustrating and didn't win very often.

I wouldn't knock him but the Letheby & Christopher Chase didn't look like a major trial to me - I don't see any of the first three home winning the totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup.

A lot depends on the ground - as we will keep saying - and if it was soft Exotic Dancer would have claims but I am still a fan of War Of Attrition.

If we get genuine good or good to soft ground in March he is still the one they all have to beat. He was so impressive last year and we will see him back to his best when the going dries up.

I rode Pancake in the Wragge & Co Juvenile Novices' Hurdle and he is a good yardstick to the value of the form.

We found out that unless it was very soft he probably wouldn't be going for the JCB Triumph Hurdle but I was very impressed by the winner Katchit.

I like juveniles that are tough - he is - and he always does just enough. He isn't flashy or overexuberant but he handles the track which is a must for the Triumph. He has to be towards the top of any shortlist for that race now.

I rode Massini's Maguire who finished third to Wichita Lineman in the Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle and it rode like a good race.

The winner is a very exciting horse who is a little lazy and the more AP asks of him, the more he finds. The fact Tidal Bay finished second gives the form a very solid look to it.

Massini's Maguire doesn't always run two races the same. We were all very impressed when he beat Wichita Lineman at Cheltenham only for him to run very badly behind the same horse in the Challow Hurdle next time.

However Cheltenham really seems to suit him and on a bit better ground in March, he would be a live contender for one of the novice hurdles at the Festival.