Grandouet

Champion Hurdle Contenders 2012 - Grandouet

Grandouet has thrown himself into the Champion Hurdle hat this season with a number of impressive performances and he looks to be full of talent. The Nicky Henderson horse ran a good third in the Triumph Hurdle last season but looks even better this campaign despite being only five years old in 2012. The team at Seven Barrows certainly think he is a nice type and many believe he could follow in the hoof steps of illustrious stable mate Binocular, who of course is a Champion Hurdle winner.

The highlight of Grandouet's season came at Cheltenham when he won the International Hurdle in impressive style. It was the first time that he had raced outside of his age group and he beat a good field including the likes of Overturn, who won the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, and Menorah who is a previous winner of the Supreme Novices Hurdle at the Festival. It remains to be seen whether Grandouet has enough to compete with a fully fit hurricane Fly but he is highly progressive and is only going to get better for the next couple of years.

There is no doubt that Grandouet is a horse to watch this season, we know he enjoys Cheltenham and appeared to have plenty in the tabk when he won the International Hurdle so well. At five, the history books are against Grandouet but he looks full of class and will go to the Champion Hurdle with real claims based on his current form.