Hughes Confident Of Hardy Chances

Dessie Hughes is confident Hardy Eustace is at his peak ahead of another clash with Brave Inca in the ACC Bank Champion Hurdle at Punchestown on Friday week.

A dual winner of the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, the nine-year-old could finish only third behind that rival this time after an interrupted preparation.

He has since chased home Asian Maze over two and a half miles at Aintree and his trainer believes his nine-time hurdle winner ? who took the Punchestown race in 2004 ? will have come on for his last two runs.

'We intended to start him later this year and he went out on his first run and everything went fine,' said Hughes.

'He then ran a stinker in the AIG and that was only five weeks before Cheltenham.

'We had to give him a fortnight off and Cheltenham came up a bit quick ? he needed at least another week.

'We then went to Liverpool and when a horse has a hard race when they are not 100% fit, it takes a bit more out of them and he ran a bit flat at Liverpool.

'He is definitely at his peak now that he has freshened up a bit and he seems fine.

'He will have the visor on and will probably need it as Punchestown is going to be a very fast-run race and if you want to get the best out of him he needs it,' Hughes told At The Races.

? PA Sport