Oscars Well is set to remain at two miles (3200m) for the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown and the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Jessica Harrington’s seven-year-old was a Grade One winner over two and a half miles (4000m) during his novice season and was an unlucky loser of the two-mile-five-furlong (4200m) Neptune Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham last spring.
He is winless since being dropped back in distance this season, but has twice been placed in top-class company, most recently finishing third behind Unaccompanied and Thousand Stars in the Istabraq Festival Hurdle.
“Everything is fine with him and I was happy enough with his run at Christmas,” Harrington said.
“He had to do a lot of the donkey work and was still only beaten just over three lengths, so it was another good run.
“He’ll go for the Irish Champion Hurdle next and then to Cheltenham for the Champion Hurdle there.”
Although Oscars Well is set to stick to the minimum distance for the foreseeable future, Harrington is not ruling out stepping her charge back up in distance towards the end of the campaign, with the Aintree Hurdle a possible target.
“That (Aintree Hurdle) could be a race we look at,” the trainer added.
“We know he stays further, so we can always step up in trip after Cheltenham if we wanted to, but we’ll see.”
PA AAP TURF
