Unibet Morgiana Hurdle (Grade 1)

Off time: 14:05 | Winning time: 4m 7.0s

Sharjah^t¹⁹⁸

Age: 8| Weight: 11-12| J: Mr P W Mullins| T: W P Mullins| OR: 164| CD

6/4

Won a third successive Matheson at Leopardstown in December. Best of the rest when second to Honeysuckle in Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and Puchestown. Won this in 2018 and set the standard.

Form: 62/1322-

Zanahiyr^t¹⁶

Age: 4| Weight: 11-12| J: D N Russell| T: G Elliott| OR: 152| D

5/2

Smart hurdler. 8/13, career best when winning 5-runner WKD Hurdle at Down Royal (16.9f, soft) 16 days ago by 8 lengths from Cask Mate, keeping on well. This tougher but must be respected.

Form: 11142-1

Echoes In Rain^h²⁰¹

Age: 5| Weight: 11-5| J: Sean O'Keeffe| T: W P Mullins| OR: 143| CD

7/4

Smart hurdler. Didn't need to be at best when winning 5-runner Champion Novices' Hurdle at this course (16.4f, good to soft, 8/13) by 3¼ lengths. Off 6 months. Remains capable of better still.

Form: 5/14111-

Non-Runners

Abacadabras¹⁹⁸

Weight: 11-12| Age: 7

T: G Elliott J: B J Cooper

Darasso⁷

Weight: 11-12| Age: 8

T: J P O'Brien J: Mark Walsh

Forecasts

Sharjah (6/4), Echoes In Rain (7/4), Zanahiyr (5/2), Abacadabras (5/1), Darasso (20/1)

SHARJAH looked better than ever when runner-up in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and Punchestown in the spring and has no Honeysuckle to deal with this time. His stablemate Echoes In Rain rates a high-class prospect and is the obvious threat ahead of last year's winner Abacadabras.