Horseracing fans with corporate tickets for the Cheltenham Festival have seen a new favourite installed for the Champion Hurdle.
Following a four-and-a-half length victory over rivals Donna's Palm and Sublimity in the Toshiba Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown, Solwhit's odds have been slashed by bookmakers.
His trainer Charles Byrnes insisted that the bookies were right to back the horse, although he expressed some concerns over the ground at Cheltenham Festival.
"He's a horse that never takes much work and saves everything for the track which is what you want," Byrnes told the Racing Post. "You've seen today [at the Toshiba Irish Champion Hurdle] what you'll see at Cheltenham."
The trainer's comments were backed up by totesport spokesman George Primarolo, who told bettingzone.co.uk that Solwhit has hardly put a foot wrong all season and consequently deserves his place at the head of the Champion Hurdle betting.
However, he commented that the horse had been found out by a lack of pace at the Fighting Fifth in Newcastle.
Posted by Oliver Jakes