Lynch hopeful with Smashing

WIllie Mullins pitches Smashing into hot company when the five-year-old tackles the highly competitive Betfair Hurdle at Newbury.

Now owned by Alan and Ann Potts having done all his racing in France until last November, Smashing has won both his starts since joining the champion trainer's team, winning at Fairyhouse and Limerick.

He will be ridden by Andrew Lynch, who said: "He's a grand horse. He won well at Limerick last time out and I'm hoping for a good run. The ground should be no problem at all, it was heavy the last day.

"When you get a rating like his after only two runs you only have a handful of options, so we've had to sort of throw him into a race like this. He's had a couple of chases already in France, so I imagine next year he'll be going that way."

Nicky Henderson feels Rolling Star will have to be a true Champion Hurdle contender to defy top weight in the contest, especially as the ground is expected to be bottomless.

The Seven Barrows handler said of Barry Geraghty's mount: "Top weight in heavy ground is never ideal. He will have to be a Champion Hurdle horse if he wins in this ground with that weight."

Paul Nicholls may not be running one-time ante-post favourite Irving, but he still has two big chances with Irish Saint and Far West.

Irish Saint had no trouble with very soft ground at Ascot after disappointing twice earlier in the season and he is actually 7lb well-in as the weights came out before that success.

Nicholls said: "He was slow coming to hand this year and knocked a hind joint. He wasn't ready for the Gerry Feilden, and then he got behind in a big field in The Ladbroke. We were never really happy with him until after Christmas and then he absolutely hosed in at Ascot. He relished the soft ground that day.

"Like a lot of the four-year-olds I've had, they get better over a trip, and I think you need a stayer to win this race. The softer the ground, the better, and he runs under a 5lb penalty, so he's a few pounds well-in."

Far West runs in the same Axom colours as Irving and is certainly an able substitute having finished second in the Triumph Hurdle last season. He ran well on his comeback at Wincanton but disappointed at Haydock, after which a problem was found.

"He was a really decent juvenile last year and was second to Melodic Rendezvous at Wincanton. He was very ordinary at Haydock, but we found he was suffering from ulcers, which he has been treated for," said Nicholls.