Wichita has Festival prep at Haydock

Wichita Lineman will aim to consolidate his prominent position in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle market with a big performance at Haydock on Saturday.

Jonjo O´Neill´s seven-year-old chased home Blazing Bailey at Cheltenham on New Year´s Day and will be stepping up to three miles for the first time this season in the realholidayreports.com Rendlesham Hurdle.

Frank Berry, racing manager to owner JP McManus, said: "He´ll run up at Haydock and it´ll be nice to see him back. He´s been a little while without a run now, but he´s in good form and the ground should be nice up there for him so I´m hopeful he´ll run well.

"We´re very happy with him as he just needs a trip and he always comes home well at the end of his races.

He´s in really good form and we´re looking forward to it."

Wichita Lineman justified favouritism in novice company at the Cheltenham Festival last year, but Berry knows it will take something extra special to deny Inglis Drever a third World Hurdle this term.

"Of course he´s going to be a very hard horse to beat as he´s a really, really good horse," he added.

Sponsors Ladbrokes make Inglis Drever their even-money favourite for the World Hurdle, with Wichita Lineman considered his biggest threat at 5/1.