I think this must be one of the worst Champion Hurdle fields in living memory in respect of the quality and depth of the field!

If we take out the hot favourite, who may or may not be above average, we simply don't know, given the paucity of the opposition, there is really

very little that stands out as being in-form and of current Champion Hurdle class based on Ratings. We know what Faugheen was; if he is 90%

he could win this or at last be runner up. Melon has long been touted as a top class horse but rarely delivered to match the expectation, the fact

ELGIN has had a great season and has a very good chance of running a place, I think when supplemented they would have been hoping for

soft Going, if it is soft would give it a solid place chance, but having had a tough season and upped in Class, I can see it fourth or fifth here if

as expected the Going is heavy. The "dark horse" if there is one is YORKHILL. It has gone off the rails; so to speak in terms of Chasing and in

particular its jumping but has an outstanding Hurdles record, if it can run up to a mark in the 150's which it regularly did and if Faugheen is

not back to a decent level, it could finish strongly up the hill, it has form on heavy; has form over further and looks one of the few likely to be

staying on, as opposed to "hanging on" - not a confident tip by any stretch so no more than 1/2 point each way.