JAMES OWEN is going to throw Burdett Road in at the deep end on Boxing Day.
The Newmarket trainer will skip Ascot this weekend and instead run the four-year-old in the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle.
There is every chance he will meet Constitution Hill at Kempton, while Willie Mullins has also said he is targeting the race with star mare and current Champion Hurdle favourite Lossiemouth.
If those two turn up it could scare off a lot of people – but Owen is keen to see if his Greatwood Hurdle hero can cut the mustard against that calibre of opposition.
He said: “We’ve got an entry at Ascot this weekend but we aren’t going to take it, we are going for the Christmas Hurdle instead.
“It could end up being an incredibly hot race, Constitution Hill looks like he is going there and I know Willie has mentioned he might have a runner.
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“At the end of the day, I’d like to find out what we have on our hands in December, rather than further down the line.
“He has been training great since his last run and I think the race at Kempton will really suit him.
“If we were to run him at Ascot he’d have to carry a lot of weight and I don’t think it will tell us where we stand. We’ll find out whether he is good enough for a Champion Hurdle on Boxing Day.”
It is expected the Christmas Hurdle will be the starting point for Constitution Hill, who has been off the track since winning the race 12 months ago.
He has had several well-documented issues since then, and a few weeks ago he was found to be lame after a disappointing racecourse gallop at Newbury.
He worked with his four-year-old stablemate Sir Gino that day, and the younger horse has since come out and won the Fighting Fifth Hurdle in impressive fashion.
However, Nicky Henderson has not yet made his mind up whether he is going to keep Sir Gino over the smaller obstacles or send him chasing, which was Plan A at the start of the season.
And Lossiemouth looks increasingly likely to take her place in a mouthwatering Christmas Hurdle in 10 days time.
Owner Rich Ricci confirmed the Kempton Grade 1 was firmly on the radar for the mare, who won easily on her comeback in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse.
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