CHAMPION HURDLE: BINOCULAR IS the first of four major Cheltenham festival hotpots to put his championship credentials on the line this afternoon in a Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle that might have 24 runners but still could end up revolving around one horse.

To those that believe Binocular is the latest hurdling superstar to carry JP McManus’s colours á la Istabraq, and there are plenty of them, then any price will be a good price today.

However, it’s that sort of attitude that has bookmakers relishing the prospect of various accums on the week’s other “bankers” – Master Minded, Kasbah Bliss and Kauto Star.

The evidence of Cheltenham’s festival history overwhelmingly states that they can’t all win and, significantly, Binocular has been on the slide in ante-post betting in the last couple of days.

There’s certainly enough against him to make the connections of 23 others horses willing to take their chances and there is enough in that figure alone to make a very short price unattractive.

But it’s not just the numbers – which include nine Irish hopes and four former winners – the memory of how Binocular lost out to Captain Cee Bee in last year’s Supreme still lingers. Raw speed is all very well but Cheltenham’s unique test demands more than a touch of raw grit and stamina.

There is also the possibility of ground that is softer than ideal for Nicky Henderson’s star whose bare form against Celestial Halo at Ascot on his last start admittedly remains the most impressive single piece of evidence this season.

That, however, was on quicker going and in a small field. Neither factor may be at play now when it counts most. And it is the 24-runner field, the biggest since Morley Street won in 1991, that is worrying Binocular’s jockey Tony McCoy.

“I think he is an improved horse since last year and his form is there for all to see,” says the man who is searching a third win in the race.

“The one thing that will make things a little harder is the big field. That will make things more difficult.”

It certainly places McCoy in a dilemma of whether to drop his horse out and ride him for speed, which is his major strength, or to alter his tactics in the hope of securing a clearer and safer run through the race.

At short odds, and with factors lining up against him, the value could end up being in opposition to Binocular.

There is no shortage of options for those wanting each-way value instead, but strangely the best value of all could come from the second string of Henderson’s three runners, Punjabi.

Third to Katchit in last year’s Champion Hurdle off a less than straight-forward preparation, Punjabi is coming here on the back of a Wincanton defeat to Whiteoak that his trainer believes will have him spot on for today.

The horse has top-class form on quick ground, including when landing last year’s Champion at Punchestown, but Barry Geraghty believes soft going will be an advantage to him as Punjabi stays two and a half miles and so his undoubted stamina will come into play.

Victory would put Geraghty alongside Richard Johnson as the only jockey to have won all four major championship races at the festival and there is no doubt the Meath rider will bring even more confidence than usual to the job on the back of a big race hot-streak this season.

The Irish challenge is numerically strong but with the likes of Hardy Eustace, Brave Inca, Sublimity and Harchibald among the leading names, it can hardly be described as a team of horses on the upswing.

Given soft ground conditions, however, only the rash will dismiss Brave Inca’s chance of rekindling memories of some glory years around here.

The 10-time Grade One winner is a remarkable horse and if it comes down to an eye-to-eye slog up the final hill there is nothing else you would rather on your side.

The reality is that he can hardly be as good as he was at 11-years-old and Brave Inca will probably need that form to win.

Binocular, in contrast, is the up-and-comer who could yet prove himself to be an exceptional horse.

But until he does, taking short odds in a big field is an option only for the big-players in the punting ring. For those of us in the real economic world, Punjabi looks a better investment.

Champion Hurdle: Brian O'Connor's tips

1. Punjabi6, 11-10 B J Geraghty (20/1)

2. Celestial Halo5, 11-10 R Walsh (7/1)

3. Binocular5, 11-10 A P McCoy (11/8)