Home / Horse Racing / Willie Mullins Six Year Old Could Go Head Champion Hurdle Betting With Win

December Festival Hurdle Odds: Hurricane Fly can blow Solwhit away once again

Bookmaker Paddy Power sponsor the Grade 1 Festival Hurdle at Leopardstown on Wednesday, in what has been billed as round four in the ongoing battle between top two mile hurdlers Hurricane Fly and Solwhit. The pair have met on each of the last three races the Willie Mullins trained six year old has run in, with the Champion Hurdle favourite having come out on top in each of the last two races over in Ireland. Hurricane Fly had been well fancied to win the Supreme Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham a couple of years ago but two injuries in his short career have wiped out any chance of an appearance at the Festival so far. The win over Solwhit in the Hatton's Grace Hurdle last time out was very impressive, with Paddy Power clipping the six year old into 4/1 joint favourite for the 2011 Champion Hurdle. Hurricane Fly is Paddy Power's odds on 8/13 favourites to win.

The Colm Byrnes trained six year old Solwhit will be bidding for revenge for his one and a half length defeat to Hurricane Fly earlier this month. He already has a win under his belt this season in the Grade 1 Dobbins & Madigans at Punchestown Hurdle in November and went off 6/1 in last season's Champion Hurdle where he finished sixth. He's won ten of his sixteen starts over hurdles and importantly has form on the heavy going, most recently beating Hurricane Fly and Murihead in the 2009 Punchestown Hurdle on the heavy going. Paddypower are happy to lay the second favourite, going best price odds of 2/1 about the six year old's chances.

Thousand Stars is the second horse in the race trained by Willie Mullins and was a winner of the Vincent O'Brien County Hurdle at last season's Cheltenham Festival. It's the six year old's debut this season and finished a credible third behind Hurricane Fly in the Radobank Champion Hurdle at the end of last season, he can be backed at odds of 14/1.

With just five declared for this valuable Grade 1 contest, the likes of Luska Lad and Won In The Dark will be hoping that they're not just making up the numbers. Luska Lad has a 50% strike rate over hurldes, winning half of his twelve starts, most recently in a Grade 3 contest at Punchestown back in October. The six year old scored a hat-trick of Grade 2 wins last season for trainer John Joseph Hanlon but could be outclassed here by the two market leaders. Sabrina Harty trains the six year old Won In The Dark who was last seen on a racecourse finishing a distant fifth behind Silviniaco Conti in the Coral Hurdle at Ascot in November. He steps back in trip for Wednesday's contest but has to go all the way back to April 2008 for his last Grade 1 victory, winning a four year old hurdle at the Punchestown Festival.

December Festival Hurdle Odds

8/13 Hurricane Fly*
2/1 Solwhit*
14/1 Thousand Stars
20/1 Luska Lad*
40/1 Won In The Dark

* denotes best industry price. Odds supplied by Paddypower.com, best odds guaranteed.

Posted: Tuesday, 28th December 2010
Author: Russell Lloyd
Tags: december festival hurdle, hurricane fly, solwhit, paddypower,

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