BARTON OPTIONS CONSIDERED Running plans for Tim Easterby`s smart hurdler Barton have yet to be finalised following the postponement of the Cheltenham Festival because of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The eight-year-old had been due to run in Tuesday`s Smurfit Champion Hurdle, for which he had been quoted at 7-1 by Coral Eurobet, followed by a possible crack at the Martell Aintree Hurdle on April 8th. But with the rescheduled Festival set to take place on April 17th-19th no decision has yet been made on the gelding`s next target. 'I don`t know what will happen now with the Champion Hurdle coming just 10 days after Liverpool,' the Malton trainer said today. Easterby had been concerned about getting Barton fit in time for the Champion Hurdle after the horse returned home sick following a disappointing effort behind Lady Rebecca at Cheltenham in January. But he said: 'He`d just come right. He`s in good form now and we`ll run hin where we are allowed to.' Pipalong, who gave Easterby his first Group One success when she landed last season`s Stanley Leisure Sprint Cup at Haydock, is also reported in good order as she prepares for the US2million Dubai Golden Shaheen at Nad Al Sheba on Saturday week. 'She`s in fine form and seems to be coping with the dirt surface,' Easterby said. 'Willie Supple, who knows the track well, has been riding her in work and seems happy with her.' Pipalong will meet old rivals Nuclear Debate and Bertolini in the six-furlong dash. They finished first and second respectively when Pipalong was third in the Victor Chandler Nunthorpe Stakes over the minimum trip at York last August.
