David Pipe's Osana leaps into picture to lead British hope

Osana's eight-length win from Katchit in the £200,000 Boylesports. com International Hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday means he is now the leading British hope.

Pipe dream: Trainer David Pipe

Trainer David Pipe is likely to ignore the chance to run the gelding in the valuable Ladbroke Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday.

He said: "He is second or third favourite for the Champion Hurdle so all roads lead to Cheltenham in March. He is only five, he is lightlyraced and he is still improving. The thing about him is that he is a very fluent jumper. He reminds me of Make A Stand (his father's 1997 Champion Hurdle winner) in the way that he gets over hurdles."

Reigning champion Sublimity still heads the ante-post betting at 4-1 despite being beaten almost 20 lengths. Noel Meade's Harchibald is a 7-1 chance. He is due to run in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day.

The fatal injury to Macs Joy on Saturday, so soon after the sad demise of Detroit City, and injury to Brave Inca has opened up the quest for the hurdling crown.

Osana's win also boosted the credentials of Sizing Europe, who had beaten him, albeit receiving 6lb, in the Greatwood Hurdle at the track last month. Victory for Meade's Jazz Messenger in the two and a half mile Tara Hurdle at Navan yesterday underlined the wellbeing of his string but had little effect on the betting.

Trainer John Carr, meanwhile, remains upbeat about Sublimity. He said: "I thought he might have got close before the last but he just blew up before it. We have something to work on now and the AIG Champion (January 27) will be next."

■ CHAMPION BETTING: 4 Sublimity, 13-2 Harchibald, 7 Osana, 8 Katchit, Sizing Europe, 16 Jazz Messenger, 20 Afsoun, Aitmatov.

Cheltenham honours for Pipe and McCoy

CHELTENHAM, which celebrated its centenaryonSaturday, hashonoured its most successful trainer, Martin Pipe, (221 winners) and jockey, Tony McCoy (148 wins until Harper Valley made it 149 in the juvenile hurdle).

The oldest living champion jockey Jack Dowdeswell, 90, (whose 68 wins and 250 rides in 1946/7 earned him little more than £1,000) was presented with a pair of gold sovereigns from 1907 and 2007. Dowdeswell, recently recovered from heart bypass surgery, later presented the trophy for the Relkeel Hurdle to the owners of Pouvoir.

■ TOM Doyle, who has returned to Ireland after nine seasons riding in Britain, rode Trafford Lad to win the grade one novices' hurdle at Navan yesterday. The winner, trained by Dusty Sheehy, is a 33-1 chance for the Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.