Entries for Cheltenham races coming thick and fast (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Entries for Cheltenham races coming thick and fast

EXCELLENT entries have been received for the two flagship hurdle races at Cheltenham's National Hunt Festival - the Smurfit Champion Hurdle, run on Tuesday, March 11, and the Bonusprint Stayers' Hurdle, which takes place two days later.

Last year's winners, Hors La Loi III and Baracouda respectively, look set to be taken on by a wide variety of rivals.

As with the Tote Gold Cup and the Queen Mother Champion Chase, there will be supplementary entry stages five days beforehand for both these hurdle races, £15,000 for the Smurfit and £7,000 for the Bonusprint.

There are 44 entries in the Smurfit Champion Hurdle and these include 12 trained in Ireland as well as two each from France and Germany.

Vying for favouritism in the ante-post betting are the hugely improved Intersky Falcon, trained at Temple Guiting by Jonjo O'Neill, and Rooster Booster, usually ridden by locally-based jockey Richard Johnson.

Intersky Falcon won the Pertemps Christmas Hurdle and Rooster Booster landed the Victor Chandler Bula Hurdle at Cheltenham in December.

Martin Pipe's six entries include the fancied Hors La Loi III, Ilnamar and Iberus while Like-A-Butterfly, Davenport Milenium and Adamant Approach are among the Irish raiders in with a good chance.

French-based Francois Dou-men has entered Laveron and Sir Peter O'Sullevan's Never while leading German trainer is responsible for San Suru and Siberius.

Less exposed entries include Noel Chance's Flame Creek, which won at Cheltenham on New Year's Day, Kombinacja, trained at Slad by Tom George Josh Gifford's exciting novice Kopeck and Jonjo O'Neill's Rhinestone Cowboy.

The 33 Bonusprint Stayers' Hurdle entries include Deano's Beano, Bacchanal, winner of the 2000 race, and Galileo who won last season's Royal and SunAlliance Novices' Hurdle.

Six entries from Ireland include last year's runner-up Bannow Bay and Limestone Lad who was runner up in the 2000 running of the race on his only other visit to Cheltenham.

Iris's Gift, winner of the Grade 2 Tripleprint Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham in December is also entered and is one to watch.

Cheltenham managing director Edward Gillespie said, "It is pleasing to see a new brigade of hurdlers emerging to take on the established stars in both the Smurfit Champion Hurdle and the Bonusprint Stayers' Hurdle."