Twiston-Davies hope runner-up in Champion Hurdle (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Twiston-Davies hope runner-up in Champion Hurdle

12:01pm Wednesday 17th March 2010

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PERSONAL bests don’t guarantee a place in the winners’ enclosure at the Cheltenham Festival.

Khyber Kim, trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies at Naunton, ran the race of his life in the last Champion Hurdle sponsored by Smurfit, but it was only good enough to take second behind Binocular, who gave 14-times champion jockey Tony McCoy a fine start to the biggest jumps meeting of the year.

Khyber Kim sprinted up the hill to beat the remainder by six lengths and more; it was just that last year’s beaten Champion Hurdle favourite finished even more strongly.

This time the Nicky Henderson-trained winner went off at 9-1.

The runner-up’s jockey Paddy Brennan, who lives near Stow, was nonetheless delighted with his horse’s run, which bodes well for the other Twiston-Davies runners this week, notably Imperial Commander in Friday’s Gold Cup.

Brennan said: "It went perfectly and I couldn't be more happy with my horse."

McCoy had previously gone close to winning the opening event of the 20-race extravaganza, the Spinal Research Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. when his mount Get Me Out Of Here, trained at Temple Guiting by Jonjo O’Neill all but caught the winner Menorah up the run to the line.

There were other near-misses for local jockeys on a day when all six favourites were beaten.

The Package, a 9-2 favourite in the William Hill Trophy and ridden by Moreton-in-Marsh-based Timmy Murphy, got going too late and just failed to catch 33-1 chance Chief Dan George.

Murphy may nevertheless dream of compensation next month as The Package ran an excellent trial for the Grand National and carries the same colours as Murphy’s previous big winner at Aintree, Comply ior Die Robert ‘Choc’ Thronton, who lives at Guiting Power, partnered Somersby into the runner-up spot in the Arkle Chase, behind one of three Irish winners on the opening card in Sizing Europe.

Showpiece race of the meeting is Friday’s Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup with the much anticipated clash between previous Gold Cup winners Kauto Star and Denman.

But Naunton’s finest Imperial Commander was only beaten in a photo by Kauto Star at Haydock earlier this season and hopes are high of a local upset.

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