More of the same for Buck's

Champion staying hurdler Big Buck’s will follow an identical path to last season.

Owner Andy Stewart has outlined four races with trainer Paul Nicholls for the seven-year-old, who is unbeaten since switching to timber since the Hennessy Gold Cup in 2008.

After starting his season in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury on November 27, he will head to Ascot for the Long Walk Hurdle (December 18).

He will then have a break before bidding for a third Ladbrokes World Hurdle at Cheltenham and heading to Aintree in an attempt for a third Liverpool Hurdle.

“He’s absolutely fine. He’ll run at the Hennessy meeting and then hopefully he’ll go to Ascot, which was rained off last year but rearranged at Newbury,” said Stewart.

“After that it will be the World Hurdle and then he’ll go back to Liverpool.

“If all goes well until then we will have a sit down and ponder what happens next.

“We kept him down to the four races last season and that is what we’ll do again.

“There was the option of going to Punchestown but we decided against it.”