United Given Champion Date Lucy Wadham´s Grade One winner United is nearing a racecourse return with the hope that she proves herself good enough to take her chance in the Smurfit Champion Hurdle. United strolled home in the Champion 4-year-old Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival in April but suffered a setback soon after and connections are eyeing a February return to the track. Reflecting on the Punchestown success, Wadham told At The Races: 'It was a huge day for us - it was very exciting and she is a very exciting mare. 'Shortly after that she got a very bad cut which led to an operation. She came to us at the end of November so she has been cantering for six weeks and we hope to get her to a racecourse sometime in February.' United is a general 40-1 chance for the Champion Hurdle, and the trainer added: 'We´ll certainly enter her at the first entry stage and hopefully she will have had a run by the second entry stage so we will know by then whether to keep pushing on with her or not.'(C) PA Sport
