Khyber takes Boylesports International There was another shock in a Champion Hurdle trial as Khyber Kim (12-1) ran out a cosy winner of the Boylesports.com International at Cheltenham. All looked to be going to plan for odds-on favourite Celestial Halo as he quickened going to the last, but Khyber Kim was in pursuit and the market leader overjumping at the final obstacle gave him his chance. Paddy Brennan immediately pounced on the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained seven-year-old and was always holding Celestial Halo up the hill for a comfortable two-and-a-quarter-length victory. Medermit was third with reigning two-mile king Punjabi fourth after travelling well for a long way. With Binocular, Hurricane Fly and now Celestial Halo and Punjabi beaten recently, the Champion Hurdle looks wide-open with Khyber Kim now an 8/1 chance with Sky Bet. Brennan said: "He is the most extraordinary two-miler I have ever ridden. He has so much speed. "Ruby (Walsh, on Celestial Halo) missed the last a bit and I was there a bit too soon. I can't believe it." Twiston-Davies said: "We have to treat him differently to any other horse at home just to keep him sweet. "We will probably give him another run in less than a month, I'm not quite sure where, and if he doesn't go well there we will wrap him up until the Champion." He went on: "He doesn't need an awful lot of work and is very happy. He has loads of carrots and everything and is very spoilt, but he is very happy and that helps. "He is a real athlete, he doesn't do any work, he just canters really and ticks along. He will tell us how he is - he is quite demonstrative - and we will see where we go." Paul Nicholls said of Celestial Halo: "There are no excuses. He ran a good race but he had to take it up at the top of the hill because of the pace. "Ruby said he didn't run on up the hill quite as well as normal, but March is another day. "I'll probably give him one more run, in the Axminster Hurdle at Wincanton." Nicky Henderson was happy with the effort of Punjabi, saying: "He has done exactly as we thought in that he has run well and then blown up. "As Barry (Geraghty) said, nothing was going to beat him two out but then of course they were as he was lacking a bit of match practice. "They have still got to knock him off his perch (in March)."
