RACING:HURRICANE FLY is set to start a red-hot favourite for Sunday's BHP Insurances Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown but faces an unknown factor in the €110,000 highlight as the enigmatic Dunguib returns to action.
Trainer Philip Fenton yesterday confirmed his former novice hurdle and bumper star is on course to begin his 2010-11 campaign at the weekend and is hoping ground conditions will improve ahead of the big race.
“The forecast is quite good and we’re hoping the ground will dry out a bit by Sunday. But it should be more solid than it was at Naas on Saturday,” he said.
The Limestone Lad Hurdle last weekend had been touted as a possible return date for Dunguib who hasn’t been seen in action since stepping out of novice class for the first time at Punchestown last April.
That resulted in a sixth to Hurricane Fly which represented an anti-climactic end to a season that had promised so much for the Fenton star.
A pair of Grade One hurdle victories saw Dunguib start a 4 to 5 favourite for the Supreme at Cheltenham where he finished a controversial third to Menorah.
Fenton ruled out a return last weekend and is now prepared to pitch his stable star into the highest class.
“The plan is to run on Sunday and we’re looking forward to seeing him run again,” the trainer said yesterday.
Despite his long absence, and being beaten a long way behind Hurricane Fly last season, bookmakers are taking no chances with Dunguib this weekend with some firms going as low as 4 to 1 about the returning star.
Dunguib is already also as low as 12 to 1 with Paddy Power for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in a couple of months as some punters clearly believe the former Festival Bumper winner can still deliver on all that novice potential.
Brian O’Connell, who has ridden Dunguib in all 11 of his races to date, expects the horse to improve for his comeback start on Sunday.
“Obviously he will improve for this first run of the year. I’m sure it will be testing ground but Leopardstown doesn’t seem to get as heavy as lot of other tracks in Ireland so I’m sure we’ll have nice ground,” O’Connell said yesterday.
“It looks a very strong race on paper. You’ve got Hurricane Fly and Solwhit who seem to be leading the way this year, but we’re looking forward to a good run out of our horse,” he added.
The jockey also pointed out how the form of last season’s Supreme has worked out well, with Menorah now at the top of the betting for Cheltenham in March.
“The form has been rock solid this year and it looks to have been an exceptional novice race last year. We’d be hoping for a good run from our horse (on Sunday) but to expect to beat Hurricane Fly in our first run back would be a lot to ask. We’ll just be hoping for a good run from our horse and for him to improve from that,” O’Connell said.
Hurricane Fly looks set to dominate the field after today’s forfeit stage and Willie Mullins’s star is already odds-on to fill in a rare big-race blank in Ireland for the champion trainer.
Also expected to line up are Hurricane Fly’s old rivals, Solwhit and Voler La Vedette, both of whom the Mullins star beat in last month’s Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse.
Hurricane Fly subsequently added to his Grade One tally at Leopardstown over Christmas when again getting the better of Solwhit in the December Festival Hurdle.
Voler La Vedette’s trainer Colm Murphy reported yesterday: “Touch wood, she’ll go there. She’s done extremely well since her last run. She’s put a bit of weight back on, she’s very well and very fresh in herself.”
Officials at Leopardstown believe the ground could dry out a little ahead of the meeting on Sunday.
The going is described as “soft at its very worst”, but with little rain on the horizon, conditions may improve.
“Things are looking good at the moment. The ground at its very worst would be soft and it looks a reasonably dry week so we think it might improve over the next few days,” said general manager Tom Burke.
“We hope all the likely main participants will show up on the day. It’s a very strong card.”
