Binocular connections eye winning return

BINOCULAR is giving Nicky Henderson the right signals as the master of Seven Barrows bids to get his star hurdler back on the winning track at Newcastle on Saturday.

The seven-year-old has been beaten at odds-on in the last two renewals of the Stanjames.com Fighting Fifth Hurdle, although he was far from disgraced when third behind Peddlers Cross when the race was rerouted to Newbury 12 months ago.

He followed that up with a brilliant display in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton and a routine win at Sandown, but had to miss the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and failed to sparkle at Aintree and Punchestown subsequently.