Timeform: Faugh the record
Sunday 8 March 2015 13:51, UK
Timeform rate Faugheen the most likely winner of the Champion Hurdle and expect him to turn on the style on Tuesday.
Eight have been declared for the Stan James Champion Hurdle on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival 2015 on Tuesday and Timeform are expecting Faugheen to pass his acid test with flying colours.
Three of the first four home in 2014 – Jezki, The New One and Hurricane Fly – feature again, but it is the up-and-comer Faugheen who tops Timeform’s weight adjusted-ratings for the race.
Timeform Chief Correspondent Jamie Lynch commented: “Everything is set for Faugheen to usher in a new era in the Champion Hurdle, and he could well produce something spectacular in doing so. He may only be marginally ahead of the established guard on Timeform ratings going into the race, but that’s reflective more of opportunity than ability, with nothing he’s gone up against so far able to get near the bottom of him.
“In that respect, the Champion Hurdle isn’t so much a bigger test as a bigger opportunity for Faugheen, and it’s easy to imagine him posting a rating that would put him in the top bracket of all-time hurdlers – that’s how good we think he might be.”
Champion Hurdle (all ratings weight-adjusted)
182p FAUGHEEN
181 JEZKI
180 THE NEW ONE
179 HURRICANE FLY
167 KITTEN ROCK
166 ARCTIC FIRE
164 VANITEUX
158 BERTIMONT
