RACING/Leopardstown: Brave Inca is as low as 7 to 4 favourite for the Smurfit Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March after a dominant winning display in front of a crowd of close to 11,000 at Leopardstown yesterday.
The Colm Murphy-trained star landed an exciting AIG Europe Champion Hurdle by a length from last year's winner Macs Joy with the race proving a disaster for Hardy Eustace who finished a tailed off last of the six runners.
"I was never happy. He ran flat," reported Hardy Eustace's jockey Conor O'Dwyer. "When I asked him there was nothing there which is very unlike him."
A veterinary examination afterwards, however, found the double Champion Hurdle winner to be "post-race normal" and bookmaker reaction was to extend Hardy Eustace's odds of bringing off a Cheltenham treble to 6 to 1.
"That's just not him. We will have him checked out and if he's all right the plan is still to go to Cheltenham," maintained his trainer Dessie Hughes.
In contrast Brave Inca's trainer Colm Murphy, who endured a reverse earlier in the week with the injury to his other stable star Feathard Lady, will go to the festival confident that his horse is better than ever.
"He's a stronger horse this year and has physically matured so much," Murphy said. "The big difference today was the ground. It makes such a difference to him and he jumped much better out of it."
Less certain, though, is the question of whether Tony McCoy will be in the saddle at Cheltenham.
The 10-times British champion jockey has been beaten only once in five starts on Brave Inca but his retainer with champion owner JP McManus means he may be claimed to ride the Jonjo O'Neill-trained Lingo at Cheltenham.
McCoy left little doubt yesterday that he wants to maintain his association with Brave Inca, who is as low as 7 to 4 favourite for the festival with Totesport, but Murphy is determined not to worry about the issue just yet.
"Tony knows the buttons to push. You can't bully this horse and Tony has got to know him very well," he said. "But if it's not to be then it's not to be. We will cross that bridge when we come to it. I don't think we will be short of offers."
Yesterday's other Grade One pot, the Baileys Arkle Trophy, saw another disappointing favourite as Nickname was pulled up leaving Missed That to beat the outsider Arteea by three-quarters of a length.
The upsurge in betting figures continued yesterday with bookmaker turnover rising by almost 900,000 on last year to 2,348,436. The Tote was up by over €75,000 to 444,668.
