Champion poser for McCain

CONNECTIONS of Whiteoak will wait until nearer the time before deciding whether to let the mare take on the boys in the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham next month.

The six-year-old won the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle at last year’s showpiece meeting and heads the ante-post market for the same race this time around.

However, her comeback second to Ashkazar in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton earlier this month has left her team pondering a tilt at the hurdling crown instead of defending her title.