Cheltenham still on agenda for Flight Leader

Colin Tizzard is hoping to get Flight Leader back to the track in time to allow him to take his chance in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at Cheltenham in March.

The eight-year-old was not far off the best among the staying novice hurdlers last term and connections had planned to send him over fences this season.

However, the son of Supreme Leader pulled muscles in his back while schooling in November and he has yet to make it back to the track.

Tizzard said: “He pulled muscles when we schooled him over fences and although we gave him a break, he went lame again when we brought him back.

“So we decided to leave him a bit longer this time and I’ve just made an entry for him in the World Hurdle,” he told At The Races.

“If we have a good run with him now, we’ll have one run a couple of weeks before Cheltenham and he’ll take his chance.

“He was rated 160 last season and he looks better this year which is the most annoying part.

“He’s a good horse on good ground but he’s very good on heavy so we’ll see how it goes.”