Walkon straight to Festival

Walkon will not have another run before the Festival following his victory at Cheltenham on Saturday.

Trainer Alan King is delighted with the juvenile's progress and reports the horse on course for the JCB Triumph Hurdle in six weeks' time.

"We were very happy with him and he just seems to be progressing with every run," said King.

"We haven't done a lot with him since but he seems to have come out of the race very well and we'll give him a quiet week now and start him off again.

"He'll definitely go straight to the Triumph Hurdle and I hope he goes there with a big chance.

"We will have no worries if the ground is quicker than it was at the weekend as he won on good at Huntingdon first time out - admittedly in a weaker race.

"We wouldn't want it too quick for him but I don't see the ground being a major issue."

King added that Bensalem, who almost ended Diamond Harry's unbeaten sequence at Cheltenham, is also poised to head straight to the Festival.

"I don't think he'll run until the Festival now and he will either go for the two and a half race (Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle) or the three-miler (Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle)," he continued.

"I think he'll keep improving and he is a lovely horse for the future. I really can't wait to get him over fences next season."