Ruby and The New One set for Kempton clash Harry Fry says his former Champion Hurdler Rock On Ruby is all set to meet The New One at Kempton on Sunday. Rock On Ruby is the established star having won Cheltenham's blue riband event in 2012 before playing second fiddle to Hurricane Fly last March. The New One was an impressive winner of the Neptune at the Festival and he performed admirably when stepping up to open company at Aintree, finishing a half length second to Zarkandar. Fry revealed that this weekend's contest is a stepping stone for targets further down the line. "We're treating it as a stepping stone for bigger targets in November and December, namely the Ascot Hurdle and the StanJames.com International. "Rock On Ruby did his last bit of fast work this morning [Thursday] before his run on Sunday and it went very much according to plan. We schooled outside on the grass yesterday and he was good and quick and sharp and fast so it's all very much systems go for Sunday." Fry said his stable star would "definitely come on for the run" and admitted it wasn't the plan to face an opponent as strong as The New One at this stage. He said, "We were hoping to get him out early in a race like this and sneak one in but the two-mile division this year is as competitive as ever. We're coming face to face with arguably one of the most exciting novices from last season in the Champion Hurdle picture. "He's followed a very similar route to Rock On Ruby having won bumpers and obviously we were just touched off in the Neptune and he was able to win that race very impressively. The Neptune for me is as good a pointer to a Champion Hurdle horse as anything else. So it's going to be a very interesting race."
