Hobbs hopeful with Menorah Philip Hobbs is confident Menorah can follow in the hoofprints of former stable-stars Rooster Booster and Detroit City by claiming the Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham on Sunday. Rooster Booster won the valuable handicap in 2002 en route to winning the Champion Hurdle in the same season, while the ill-fated Detroit City impressed in 2006. Like that pair, last season's Supreme Novices' Hurdle hero Menorah will carry top weight this weekend. "He is very, very well. He is only five and we hope he has improved from last season. I would not want it very soft, though good to soft is fine," said Hobbs. "We had a couple of blips with him last season - he is a very genuine horse but he does want a strong pace, which is a reason why we have not run him in anything else this season. "We knew he was going to be good when he won his first race at Warwick, but he is massively different from both Detroit City and Rooster Booster. "Detroit City was a great big strong-boat and Rooster Booster was very keen. This horse is just very straightforward and easy in every way. "He would definitely jump fences when we want to, while the others probably would not have done. "He may be jumping them sooner rather than later if he gets beaten on Sunday." The Paul Nicholls-trained Sanctuaire heads the market and returns to the scene of his blistering display in the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle at the Festival in March. "He's in good form and this has been his target ever since he came in," said the champion trainer. "He appears to be a different horse at home as he's much more settled and more mature. "We're hopeful of a good run from him, but it's a hot-looking handicap." Menorah and Sanctuaire feature among a final field of 18 runners. Jonjo O'Neill's Get Me Out Of Here was second to Menorah in the Supreme, but needs to bounce back following a disappointing seasonal reappearance. Consistent mare Issaquah represents Malcolm Jefferson, while course-and-distance winner Astracad is a major player for local trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies - as is Nicky Henderson's General Miller. The Eoin Griffin-trained St Devote is the sole challenger from Ireland, with Evan Williams saddling Tarkari and Fiulin. Manyriverstocross and Olofi are other interesting contenders. General Miller got the better of Menorah at Aintree in the spring and was last seen finishing fourth in a Grade One at Punchestown in April. The five-year-old's owner, Henry Ponsonby, said: "Some of Nicky's have been needing a race and in an ideal world we would have liked another week to 10 days, but he's in very good nick. "He seems a stronger horse than last year. We are touching wood because the last time he ran at Cheltenham he unseated at the first, but he is a course winner. His schooling this year has been good. "He beat Menorah at level weights at Aintree and we are getting 5lb on Sunday. "We're hoping for a good run but if he needs the race, he needs the race. "He's in very good form and the ground should suit him." Twiston-Davies' assistant Carl Llewellyn believes Astracad could be a lively outsider, having fairly bolted up at Prestbury Park a month ago. "It's a step up for him but hopefully he's a young horse who is still improving," said Llewellyn. "He won very well at Cheltenham last month so he obviously acts well on the track, and a fast-run two miles will suit him. "It's a very competitive race, as they all are this weekend, and we're not saying he'll win, but hopefully he has a good old chance."
