Furze primed for Champion challenge

The French Furze will bid to end the season as he started it with a victory at Ayr tomorrow when the veteran faces 12 rivals in the Samsung Electronics Scottish Champion Hurdle.

Despite his increasing years, the 11-year-old has mixed it with the best this term after kicking off his campaign by winning a handicap hurdle at the Scottish track last November.

Nicky Richards’ stalwart is no stranger to tomorrow’s Grade Two handicap either, having finished fifth in 2001 and fourth in both 2002 and 2004.

“He has been there before and I suppose it is quite a competitive sort of race, but he is in there with a chance,” said the trainer.

“He seems very well and if he turns up on the day in good form he will run a good race.

“He won well at Ayr earlier in the season but hasn’t run a bad race all year. He was third in the Champion Hurdle trial at Haydock, where Inglis Drever beat us, and there is nothing wrong with that form.

“He ran in the Stayers’, where he ran a fantastic race. He was third coming down the hill to the second-last but just didn’t quite stay. The old horse should run a good race tomorrow.”

Top-weight in tomorrow’s two-mile contest is the Paul Nicholls-trained Rigmarole, while his title rivals Martin Pipe fields his County Hurdle winner Fontanesi, along with Copeland.

Royal Shakespeare will be reunited with Robert Thornton, who steered him to victory in a Grade Two event at Aintree 12 months ago, while Peter Bowen’s Genghis seeks his fourth win on the bounce.

Nicky Henderson will be represented by Geos, with Howard Johnson saddling Dalaram and Alan Swinbank running Far Pavilions, who left a disappointing Imperial Cup run behind when scoring on the level at Catterick last week.