Minsk ready for hurdling Minsk, second favourite for the JCB Triumph Hurdle, is likely to make his debut over jumps in about a month's time. The four-year-old has attracted plenty of interest for the Grade One at Cheltenham in March on the strength of his Flat form. He won his last three starts for trainer John Oxx culminating in the Irish Cesarewitch where he romped home by five-and-a-half lengths. Owner Barry Connell sent the Dalakhani gelding to Dessie Hughes to be trained for a hurdling campaign with the Triumph the target should all go well. And Hughes reports Minsk to have taken to his new task like a natural. "He'll probably be running in a month to five weeks' time. He was racing on the Flat all summer so we gave him a bit of a break when we got him about six weeks ago," said the County Kildare handler. "We're just starting to train him properly now. We're hoping to get two runs into him before Cheltenham. "He's high in the betting for the Triumph because of his Flat form. He won the Cesarewitch very convincingly and he looks the real deal. "We've schooled him and he's taken to hurdles very well."
