World Hurdle: Whisky heading straight to Cheltenham

The Cheltenham Festival / Timeform / 06 February 2012 / Leave a Comment

Oscar Whisky could head straight to the Festival.

"I think there's every chance he'll go straight to Cheltenham now and run in the three-mile race..."

Owner Dai Walters believes Oscar Whisky could head straight for a mouth-watering clash with Bug Buck's in the World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival...

Walters, the owner of Ffos Las racecourse, had hoped to see his star performer defend his crown in the Welsh Champion Hurdle at the track on Saturday, but the meeting fell victim to the freezing temperatures.

With the race looking unlikely to be rescheduled, Walters believes opportunities to run the Nicky Henderson-trained gelding between now and the Festival are few and far between.

"It was disappointing the meeting had to be abandoned the other day. The reason we decided to have the Welsh Champion Hurdle in February was because it was a good stepping stone to Cheltenham," said Walters.

"Our next Saturday meeting is on March 17, which is the same week at the Festival, so it won't work out the way we wanted.

"I've spoken to Nicky about where we could run Oscar Whisky. There is the National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell (February 26), but that is probably too close to Cheltenham.

"I think there's every chance he'll go straight to Cheltenham now and run in the three-mile race."

Oscar Whisky also has a Champion Hurdle entry, a race in which he finished third last year, but he looks set to tackle three-time World Hurdle winner Big Buck's on his first attempt at three miles.

While full of respect for the hot favourite, Walters hopes Oscar Whisky might give him more to think about than anything he has faced so far this season.

"Big Buck's is a great horse, but he hasn't had that many really good horses run against him," Walters added.

"It would be nice to win, but we know it's a difficult task and as we know with horses, anything can happen in the next few weeks.

"I think Oscar Whisky will stay three miles and I'm looking forward to it."

Oscar Whisky, rated 171 by Timeform, is currently trading as the [7.4] second favourite for the World Hurdle behind Big Buck's, who is available at [1.61].