Hardy hardier than Harchibald

IN all the years I have been travelling to Cheltenham, I have never seen a more extraordinary Champion Hurdle.

How Hardy Eustace managed to pull the contest out of the fire and how Harchibald contrived to lose yesterday's opening day feature will forever remain one of the unsolved puzzles of this great Festival.

The most plausible explanation is that Hardy Eustace simply wanted it more. Harchibald was laughing at him all the way up the straight, as Paul Carberry sat utterly motionless.