Langer Dan, the two-time Coral Cup champion, is set to compete in the esteemed Grade One for the first time at the William Hill Aintree Hurdle on Thursday. Despite experiencing issues with stomach ulcers that affected his performance during winter, the eight-year-old gelding trained by Dan Skelton has returned to top form. His impressive showing at Cheltenham, securing a 3½-length victory, made him the first double winner of the highly competitive handicap. He now has a new set of challenges ahead, as he will be facing high-ranking horses Bob Olinger and Impaire Et Passe among a group of eight.
“The promotion to a Grade One is a thrilling prospect,” said Skelton. He added that while the primary two competitors [Bob Olinger and Impaire Et Passe] are revered, he trusts that Langer Dan’s excellent form and recent peak performance in the Coral Cup can make a difference.
Bob Olinger, trained by Henry de Bromhead, had skipped the Cheltenham Festival after a second-place finish at the Irish Champion Hurdle and prioritised this season to contest at his preferred distance of 2½ miles. Rachael Blackmore, who is looking forward to riding Bob Olinger at the Aintree Hurdle, praised his display at the Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day, describing it as a return to his peak form. She expressed optimism about his current condition and his performance throughout the season.
Nicky Henderson’s Luccia demonstrated a stunning career-best performance by coming in third during the Champion Hurdle, surpassing several of her fellow stable horses. Her trainer is keen to test her abilities over a longer distance.
The idea behind increasing her journey is simply because other than Punchestown for the two-mile ladies’ hurdle where we predict Lossiemouth will show up, we don’t have much alternatives,” Henderson informed Unibet.
“We secured third place in the Champion Hurdle, hence it would be intriguing to discover how we match up against Lossiemouth and ascertain whether Lossiemouth would have secured the fourth or first position in the Champion Hurdle.
“With State Man not being far from Luccia, it’s a bit maddening since we are aware of Luccia’s position relative to Constitution Hill and even a gap of five lengths won’t bring them together.
“Lossiemouth’s performance this season during the two occasions we saw her was nothing short of impressive, so it’s not just that we are reluctant to compete with her, I’ve been eager to prolong Luccia’s journey as this presents a chance to determine if she can keep up because it will make the next year much simpler.”
The line-up is completed by Beacon Edge, Mahons Glory, Nemean Lion, and Marie’s Rock.