Solwhit's Leopardstown win awakens Festival fever for Charles Byrnes

If attitude alone were enough to win a Champion Hurdle, Solwhit would probably be a 6-4 chance in the ante-post betting this morning, after a victory in the Irish equivalent here todaythat advertised a battling nature and a no-nonsense approach to getting the job done. Both punters and bookies, though, like to glimpse brilliance in a potential champion, which is why one layer was still offering 6-1 for the Festival as Solwhit returned to the winner's enclosure after the fifth Grade One success of his career. What does seem certain is that Solwhit will not go down without a scrap if Go Native, perhaps the classiest young hurdler in the race, cruises alongside at the bottom of the hill. Sublimity, the 2007 champion, was ridden much more prominently than normal and was still cruising as they turned for home. Solwhit, on his outside, was coming under some pressure after a slightly awkward jump two out, but he soon found more than enough to take Sublimity's measure going to the last. Sublimity tired in the final strides and was caught for second place by Donnas Palm, but would expect to do better on a sounder surface in March. The disappointment of the race, though, was Celestial Halo, sent off second-favourite behind Solwhit, who dropped away quickly in the straight after making the running. He has quite a gap to bridge if he is to improve on his narrow defeat in last year's Champion. If Harry Findlay is at one end of the spectrum when it comes to celebrating success, then Charles Byrnes, Solwhit's trainer, is very firmly at the other. Byrnes is as undemonstrative as anyone can be without heavy sedation, but must now be feeling at least a glimmer of excitement at the prospect of running the six-year-old at the Festival. "That's all he's wanted all season really, a proper-run race from start to finish, and he got it today," Byrnes said. "At Newcastle [in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle] they absolutely walked and then sprinted for three furlongs, and even the last day here [at the Christmas meeting], they went a reasonable pace but not a proper one. "He's a brilliant jumper, the fastest jumper I've ever had, and he's so calm and takes everything really easily. I told Davy [Russell, the jockey] not to let Celestial Halo get more than three or four lengths up. As it turned out, he wasn't the one to be watching." Paul Nicholls is pinning his hopes for Celestial Halo on a return to better ground. "Both times he's run really well at Cheltenham, it's been on decent ground," Nicholls said, "and we just have to hope that the spring ground suits him better. If not, he'll be jumping fences after that." Celestial Halo can be backed at 20-1 for the Champion Hurdle, while Sublimity is a similar price. Of the two, it is Robbie Hennessy's veteran who looks the better each-way bet. Dunguib, last year's outstanding Festival Bumper winner, remains an unknown quantity in this market, but the Supreme Novice Hurdle still seems his most likely target in March, which could have a knock-on effect on other trainers' plans. Rite Of Passage, for instance, looked a very useful recruit when winning the maiden hurdle here, but could run in the Neptune Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham rather than Supreme if Dermot Weld feels that Dunguib will prove too tough. "My thoughts would be to give him one more run over hurdles and if that goes to plan obviously he'll go to one of the novice hurdles at Cheltenham," Weld said. "Whether it's over two miles or two miles and five, we'll decide nearer to the time. "He does stay very well [and] he's a very laid-back and relaxed individual. The second horse today [Grey Soldier] was a very good horse on the Flat in France and he got the [first] run, so this fella really had to show the gears he has and he'll have learned a lot from that. "He's a natural jumper and a very athletic individual, and hopefully we can have a lot of fun with him." The Grade One Arkle Novice Chase, a trial for the Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham, was won by An Cathaoir Mor under an excellent waiting ride by David Casey. He may well miss the Festival, though, as Henry de Bromhead already has Sizing Europe prominent in the Arkle betting, while An Cathaoir Mor is not certain to handle better ground. "Whether he's a Cheltenham horse, I don't know," De Bromhead said. "He loves testing conditions and he's such a heavy-topped horse that I'm not sure you'd want to risk him around there. The Powers Gold Cup would be a possibility, but he definitely wants it soft." An Cathaoir Mor is 16-1 for the Arkle Trophy with Ladbrokes, while Sports Line, the runner-up, is unchanged at 14-1 with William Hill.