Racing/Champion Hurdle report: Hardy Eustace chiselled his own little niche of Cheltenham history yesterday when winning a second Smurfit Champion Hurdle with a display of courage rarely seen before up the famous hill.

Just like the previous year, the Dessie Hughes-trained star made all the running but if that was relatively straight-forward, then yesterday was a lung-bursting exhibition of raw defiance.

That Conor O'Dwyer somehow managed to force Hardy Eustace home by a neck was made even more remarkable by the fact he could have been forgiven for sitting up and accepting defeat just a few hundred yards before.

Certainly if the 2005 Champion Hurdle is ultimately remembered for only the winner, then the picture of what Harchibald did will live long in the memory of everyone who saw it.

Possessed of the sort of cruising speed normally associated with aircraft, Paul Carberry's mount did what he does best and cruised up between Hardy Eustace and third-placed Brave Inca going to the last.

After jumping it he continued to cruise and Carberry did a reasonable impression of a man waiting patiently for bus. But unfortunately for him he could only wait so long.

Just 50 yards from the line, Carberry had no option but to ask the question he must have already suspected the answer to. Harchibald has flattered in the past and found little when Carberry's backside has descended from the skies. One crack of the whip was enough to know that it was going to happen again.

Sandwiched between O'Dwyer's forceful urgings and Brave Inca plugging on gamely, Carberry's relative inactivity might have looked incongruous but there will be no braver ride this week. Some frantic flapping might have pleased the ignorant but Harchibald's backers got every chance for their money.

In the circumstances the burst of booing Carberry had to endure coming back in front of the stands was moronic.

"He's run a great race. He carried me the whole way. Well, nearly the whole way!" said Carberry afterwards.

"Halfway up the hill I thought I'd get Hardy Eustace but he just kept going." Noel Meade was quick to dismiss any semblance of blame and said: "I have no problem with the ride at all. Paul said to me that if he was going to lead it would be only 50 yards out. I thought we'd won it but we came up against the wrong horse. I've no doubt if Paul had gone for it at the last Hardy Eustace would have come back."

That's the sort of history that Hardy Eustace is writing for himself at this place. A SunAlliance victory in 2003 has been followed by two championships. If he can do it again next year he will have emulated exactly the great Istabraq's Cheltenham tally.

Istabraq did it his way but class isn't one-dimensional and if Harchibald's habits are well known then so are Hardy Eustace's. "I've never know a horse with such guts," exclaimed O'Dwyer. "When I saw Harchibald's head I almost thought 'that's it.' But I knew there was an if about Harchibald coming up the hill. And anyway Hardy Eustace wouldn't have let me give up."

For Dessie Hughes the heart-thumping finish was a 26-year flashback to when he rode Monksfield to victory in an epic battle with Sea Pigeon.

"It was exactly the same. Just like Monksfield he kept pulling out that bit more. I've seen plenty of Champion Hurdles but I've never seen a horse leap like that before. He was brilliant, gave them all a chance, and still picked up," said the trainer.

Back in third was Brave Inca who might run in the Aintree Hurdle next before his trainer Colm Murphy considers a possible switch to novice chasing next season. In contrast Hardy Eustace is unlikely to be ever pointed at a fence and with Harchibald also likely to try to come back next year, Paddy Power made the pair 6 to 1 joint favourites for 2006. Before that they could clash again in the Emo Oil Champion Hurdle at Punchestown next month.

"I think this race might have been a bit special. It reminded me of Sea Pigeon and Monksfield," said Meade through his disappointment.

It's a thought to savour but give him Cheltenham in March and Hardy Eustace can achieve the extraordinary.

Kingscliff, who had been vying for favouritism in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, has been ruled out of Friday's big race. The Robert Alner-trained eight-year-old shot to the head of the blue riband betting after Best Mate was taken out but a poor piece of work yesterday ruled him out. "It wouldn't be fair to the horse, to the owner and to the jockey to run him if he's not 100 per cent," Alner said.

A leading Irish challenger for the Gold Cup, Rule Supreme, has been switched to run in the World Hurdle tomorrow.