Brown Keeping Big Guns In His Sights

Pat Hughes is to keep Farmer Brown to the best company following the six-year-old's fine effort behind Jazz Messenger at Punchestown.

The bewleyshotel.com December Hurdle on December 29 and the AIG (Europe) Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown as well as the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham could now be on the agenda.

Handicaps are set to be a thing of the past after Farmer Brown ran Noel Meade's ace to a length and a half in the Grade One Maplewood Developments Hurdle earlier this month.

'He's a horse who's improved every month of the year,' said Hughes.

'He might run at Leopardstown over Christmas. I made the entry today, although I would prefer to wait for the AIG and then maybe the Champion Hurdle.

'He's rated 155 over hurdles here, so he's maybe 160 or 161 in England. In that case we can forget about handicaps.'

Hughes puts Farmer Brown's progressive form down to his more relaxed state of mind.

'Last year I said to the owner that he's a talented horse but he's a terrible worrier. That's what he was,' Hughes continued.

'Gradually he got better and better, but it wasn't until he had those easy races at Sligo and Killarney in May that he realised life wasn't that hard. He seemed to stop worrying after that.'

Hughes hopes that he will be a better traveller.

'He never ran a good race when he travelled, that's the only thing,' the Bagenalstown-based handler added.

'If I do go to England with him I'd go about 10 days beforehand.'

(C) PA Sport