Irish have Strong Squad for Triumph Ireland has a strong team among the 35 horses who stood their ground for Friday's JCB Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. They include leading contenders in the shape of Ebadiyan, Jumbo Rio and Lethal Weapon, with strong backing from such as Mourad and Tharawaat. The home defence is led by favourites Zaynar and Walkon, trained by Nicky Henderson and Alan King respectively. They clashed earlier in the season, with Zaynar running out a four-length winner at Newbury in December. He has since gone on to win at Ascot, while Walkon has taken a Chepstow Grade One and a Cheltenham Grade Two. David Pipe's pair of Master Of Arts and Torphichen are also prominent in the betting and they have been left in the race at the confirmation stage, along with Alan Fleming's unbeaten Starluck. y is a possibility so it's no surprise to see Binocular drift out to 7-4, and he will hit 2-1 or bigger if the forecast rains materialises. The money has started to arrive for the mud-lovers, with good-ground horses like Sublimity on the drift. "The news that a major tipping line has pinpointed Whiteoak will come as welcome news for those who are on the mare at big prices. Obviously, those fortunate few who are sitting on odds of 999-1 are in fantastic shape now." To win the Champion Hurdle ? Betfair bet: 7-4 Binocular, 11-1 Celestial Halo, 12-1 Crack Away Jack, 14-1 Osana, 17-1 Katchit, 20-1 Sublimity, Whiteoak, 25-1 Sizing Europe, 28-1 Ashkazar, 35-1 Sentry Duty, Harchibald, Brave Inca, 39-1 Punjabi, 41-1 Jered.
