Tharawaat the One to Beat Gordon Elliott is confident Tharawaat will prove difficult to beat as he steps up to Grade One company for the first time in the Durkan New Homes Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown on St Stephen's Day. The former Barry Hills inmate was beaten into second on his hurdling debut but has not looked back since, recording two effortless successes, the latest of which came in Grade Three company at Fairyhouse. Elliott said: "He'll go for the big juvenile race - he worked very well on Sunday morning so we are expecting a very big run. He is improving all the time and if I'm honest, I think he is even sharper now than he was at Fairyhouse. He seems to be getting better with every run." He added: "When you look at him working at home you would say he'd go on better ground but he just seems very effective when it's testing. He jumps so well out of it and gallops other horses into the ground. "It's soft at Leopardstown at the moment so that will be in our favour as well. This race is the goal at the moment and if he wins, obviously we would be looking at races like the Triumph. "We just want to get this race out of the way and we'll see where we are."
