Ruby Walsh feels The New Lion is the one to beat in the Unibet Champion Hurdle following last weekend's action at Leopardstown.
Brighterdaysahead reversed Christmas form with Lossiemouth in the Irish Champion on Sunday although speaking on Paddy Power Media’s ‘From The Horse’s Mouth’ podcast Cheltenham Countdown, the analyst felt the writing was on the wall early for the runner-up.
“She was hanging to her left, she was always hanging in and obviously they were keen at that point of the day to be in the middle of the racecourse and she was hanging into her left,” he said.
“I thought the signs weren’t great from a lot earlier than just down the back - I thought they hadn’t probably even got to the first hurdle and you were thinking ‘Jack has a good hold on Brighterdaysahead, she’s taking him whereas Paul’s body language was a loop in the rein like he was squeezing."
Walsh felt it wasn’t a dissimilar performance to the one Lossiemouth produced behind Constitution Hill in last season’s Christmas Hurdle.
“When you watch her in Kempton I was thinking, she’s going to fall out of the television and I thought when she stepped to the third hurdle away from the stands and faced into the back straight under pressure, I was thinking ‘she’s just going to fall out of this race’ but to her credit she didn’t, she kept hanging on," he continued.
“Now Paul Townend did also comment that if when Brighterdaysahead got to the front over the second-last, she waited in front which allowed Paul to sort of look like he was getting on her tail, but he did feel that if Jack had opened up at the second like going from the wings of the second last hurdle, he’d never have seen her.
“I thought it was a brilliant performance from Brighterdaysahead, but would I fancy her in the Champion Hurdle? I think the ground would want to be soft."
And does that performance rule Lossiemouth out of the Champion?
"I wouldn’t say it's off the table because you wouldn’t know what would happen with the opposition in the next five weeks either so Willie doesn’t nail his colours to the mast for that reason, let the cards fall and see where you end up basically,” he said.
“But I’ve always thought she was better going a bit further, I don’t think that she ran to her best on Sunday and maybe I’d be proved wrong that she is good enough or fast enough at two miles, but I just always felt she travels better going a little bit further just going that fraction slower which does seem to suit her. But she’s still a very good mare."
And as for the Champion Hurdle now?
“The New Lion is probably the one for me in the Champion Hurdle, I think he is, I think the International wasn’t run at all to suit him, it was like a schooling session. Harry show-jumped him over the second last and again went to the last and had the time to be able to do the very same thing.
"But I did think he showed a good enough turn of foot because it was a really slowly-run race, they were giving a decent horse in Nemean Lion the absolute run of the race and then you’re giving him the advantage again going to the last hurdle by slowing down to make sure you get from A to B.
“Being on the New Course with that long run in, you have time to do that, but you can’t do that in a Champion Hurdle. But I think The New Lion will beat Brighterdaysahead and Golden Ace will be third."
Paddy Power Media’s ‘From The Horse’s Mouth’ Podcast
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