Sceau Royal primed for Grade One test Alan King expects to learn more about Sceau Royal's capabilities by running him in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle tomorrow. The four-year-old won three times for the Barbury Castle handler last season, but came up short when stepped up to the highest level in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham and at Aintree. However, he could not have been more impressive on his seasonal reappearance at Cheltenham and having produced a similarly dominant performance in landing the Elite Hurdle at Wincanton earlier this month, Sceau Royal gets another chance to prove his worth in Grade One company. King hopes to discover whether his youngster is a realistic contender for the Champion Hurdle. "He's in good form and we're very happy with him," the trainer told At The Races. "It's an interesting race, but I think he deserves to be there. "We'll know more (about his Champion Hurdle claims) after the race. There's Irish horses coming over so it will be a good test. "He won well at Wincanton. It's going to be different conditions and softer ground, but, to be fair, Wincanton was plenty quick enough for him. "He won on testing ground round Cheltenham last year and I would think the ground will be all right, but this will be another step up for him."
