Hardy Eustace could switch Festival target
Hughes admitted that he is tempted to go for the £75,000 showcase handicap rather than the £300,000 blue riband if Jonjo O’Neill takes the same route with last year’s Champion Hurdle third.
Hardy Eustace will receive 12lb from Rhinestone Cowboy if they met in the Coral Cup, but the pair would be off level weights in the Champion.
The two mile, five furlongs of the Coral Cup may also suit Hardy Eustace better than an extended two miles as he won the Royal & Sun Alliance Novices’ Hurdle over the same course and distance at last year’s Festival. “He will go for the Coral Cup if Rhinestone Cowboy carries top-weight,” said Hughes.
The trainer is also aware that should Rhinestone Cowboy take his chance in the Coral Cup then not many horses would be in the handicap proper.
Conor O’Dwyer, who has partnered the seven-year-old in his last four rides, will be in the saddle at Cheltenham.
Hughes’ three-strong Festival team is completed by Mutineer in the Pertemps Final and Central House in the Irish Independent Arkle Chase.
The trainer is hoping to get Ruby Walsh for Mutineer, while he has snapped up Paul Carberry for Central House.
Meanwhile Venn Ottery, whose odds for the Queen Mother Champion Chase had shortened in dramatic fashion in recent weeks, met with a shock defeat at Market Rasen yesterday.
However, Cheltenham is still very much on the agenda, despite his reverse in the Sharp Minds Betfair: Winners Welcome Handicap Chase.
Having failed to win in 23 starts, Venn Ottery rattled up a quick hat-trick after joining Paul Nicholls and in the process was a 25-1 chance for the Festival before yesterday's race, his owner and former trainer Oliver Carter having backed him at 1,000-1.
He was a 2-5 chance to account for his seven rivals, but blundered at the second fence and raced very keenly before being headed by Brian Ellison's well-backed Transit at the penultimate fence.
He was 10 lengths adrift at the line, but his rider Joe Tizzard said: "The ground did not suit him, it was dead and he could not breath on it, and he was also 30lb higher than when he won the first time.His wins have been on top of the ground.”
