Champion Still On Straw Agenda

Nick Gifford offered no excuses for Straw Bear's reverse at Sandown on Saturday.

The JP McManus-owned gelding was beaten three and a half lengths by Nicky Henderson's Afsoun in the Contenders Hurdle.

Despite that setback, Straw Bear is still set to tackle Sizing Europe and Sublimity in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham.

"He's absolutely fine," said Gifford. "In the cold light of day he ran a very similar race to the one he did there last year (second behind Detroit City).

"He came there after the last but he didn't quite get up the hill but we live to fight another day.

"Afsoun is a bit like us on our day. They are good horses but they are probably just a shade below the very top level.

"We are there to have a go at the top boys and both horses deserve to have a go at the Champion.

"That is still the plan. Obviously I need to have a chat with the owner but there is nowhere else to run him so he might as well go there," Gifford told At The Races.

Straw Bear is out to 25-1 for the Champion Hurdle.

? PA Sport