Pitman confident that Ashley Park will shine

Ashley Park, chief obstacle to Istabraq's record-breaking bid for a fourth Champion Hurdle success next March, is on course to make his long-awaited return to the track in Kempton's Pertemps Christmas Hurdle in just over a fortnight.

Mark Pitman, Upper Lambourn trainer of the best-priced 9-1 second favourite for the 2001 Champion Hurdle, today threw down a gauntlet to any potential Yuletide rivals. "I didn't see anything to beat my horse," he claimed, after studying Saturday's competitive Bula Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The Nicky Henderson-trained Geos sprang a 14-1 surprise in that Grade Two contest, beating 1999 Royal & SunAlliance Hurdle hero Barton by six lengths. Other tall reputations scalped in the same event were last term's Champion Hurdle runner-up, Hors La Loi III, and Irish hype-horse, Youlneverwalkalone.

Although Geos was swiftly cut by many bookmakers from 40-1 to 12-1 for the 2001 Smurfit Champion Hurdle (albeit that Coral still offer 20-1), the main reaction was to harden three-times winner Istabraq's position at the head of the ante-post market. Ladbrokes now go 4-7 from 10-11, although the Tote still offers the latter price.

Ashley Park was fourth to Istabraq last March on only his second hurdles start. But Pitman now has a revealing line to the Bula form, having saddled once-raced novice Hitman to finish a remarkable fourth. The five-year-old gelding had been sidelined for 348 days since pulling up on his sole prior hurdling start with a stress fracture.

"I was delighted with Hitman, but I still didn't see anything to beat my horse, Ashley Park," said a bullish Pitman. "We have to be very careful with Ashley as he's got fragile wheels, but he's been back in twice weekly training for some time now and is in very good form.