A Hare Breath has handicap targets Ben Pauling has set his sights on some valuable handicap hurdles with A Hare Breath. The son of Alkaadhem won a point-to-point for Willie Murphy at Bennettsbridge in 2013 before he was sold for 70,000 pound. The seven-year-old landed a gamble at Cheltenham on Friday when defying an absence of 695 days to take the honours in the Opus Energy Novices' Handicap Hurdle. Available at substantial odds on Thursday he showed he had made a full recovery from both a pelvic problem and a suspensory ligament injury to run out a two-and-a-quarter-length winner, giving Pauling a first Cheltenham triumph. The trainer said: "I think he is going to be better on better ground and we will pick our way from here. He has come out of the race well and we will see what the handicapper does. "I think he has still got another one in him. The Betfair Hurdle might be something we look at later on in the season, but he would need to win another if he was to get into the County Hurdle. "He wants a stiff two miles and a proper gallop in the County Hurdle would suit him. I don't think he wants a Coral Cup trip."
