Bear May Head Straight To Champion Nick Gifford's Christmas Hurdle winner Straw Bear may head straight for the Champion Hurdle without the aid of another run.The JP McManus-owned six-year-old got the better of Harchibald under a vintage ride from Tony McCoy and plans are expected to be finalised shortly.'Nothing's set in stone yet, as I'm hoping to sit down to have a chat with JP and his racing manager Frank Berry early in the new year, but there's a possibility that Straw Bear will go straight to the Champion Hurdle now,' said Gifford.'He's come out of his Kempton run in A1 shape, not a bother on him, and, while we haven't done much with him since that outing, what he has done shows he's taken the race really well,' he told the Racing Post.Straw Bear is a top-price 12-1 for the Champion Hurdle in March.(C) PA Sport
