Gallop planned for Europe

Henry De Bromhead is set to hand Sizing Europe an imminent away-day as he plots a path to Cheltenham for a tilt at the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle.

The six-year-old beat Osana in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle at the course in November before leaping to favouritism for the March 11th feature with a smooth success in the AIG Europe Champion.

De Bromhead said: "He´ll probably go for a gallop away from home next week sometime and at the moment he is just ticking away.

"He seems in good form and he schooled this morning and jumped great. I´m happy with him at the moment.

"I keep having to pinch myself that we have the favourite for the Champion Hurdle but the nerves aren´t too bad at the moment."

De Bromhead does not believe Sizing Europe would be inconvenienced by the quicker ground that often predominates in March.

"He won at Punchestown on good ground at the Festival last year," he told At The Races.

"His run before that was at Fairyhouse and he made a mistake at the second-last on his first run back. It was good to firm ground that day and he was only beaten five lengths by De Valira.

"I thought that was a very good run for his first run back, so I wouldn´t be overly concerned.

"If I could pick what ground I wanted I would say he´d want it on the soft side of good."

De Bromhead believes reigning title-holder Sublimity could yet emerge as the biggest threat to Sizing Europe in the Champion, but reserves a great deal of respect for the other contenders.

Of Sublimity, he said: "I thought he was a very impressive winner of the race last year but I genuinely believe all of them (are threats).

"(Osana) was giving us 6lb (in the Greatwood) so that looks like a fair performance by him to finish as close as he did.

"There are the bigger-priced horses of the likes of Ebaziyan, who is a course-and-distance winner in the Supreme, and Catch Me, who won the other day. They´re all there."