Racing news this week

• 2014 Champion Hurdle News

  
  Reigning champion Hurricane Fly is one of eighteen horses entered for the £400,000 Stan James Champion Hurdle on Tuesday March 11.

  
  

  Willie Mullins’ legendary hurdler will be bidding to win the world famous race for the third time after he landed the contest in 2011 and 2013 and he would become only the sixth horse to achieve such a feat.

  
  

  Eighteen horses is the lowest number of entries for the race in recent years - last year there were 34 and the previous lowest total was 24 in 1995 – but it still looks set to be a fascinating affair and all the principals are on course for Prestbury Park.
  Read our Champion Hurdle news now!

• 2014 Champion Chase News

  
  Nicky Henderson has confirmed that it will be the 2014 Queen Mother Champion Chase or nothing for Sprinter Sacre after he was pulled up at Kempton last month.

  
  

  The sport’s highest rated chaser pleased Nicky Henderson and equine heart specialist Celia Marr when he cantered at Seven Barrows and the trainer is thrilled to his stable star back in action.

  
  

  Henderson explained: "He'll come back into a normal routine. There's only any point in him coming back if we can get him back for the Queen Mother. There are lots of other races, but my gut feeling is that we weren't going to get him back for Cheltenham, we wouldn't bring him back this year."
  Read the latest Champion Chase news.

• 2014 World Hurdle News

  
  Sam Twiston-Davies, who already boasts strong chances of Champion Hurdle success aboard The New One, has been handed the plum ride aboard Big Buck’s in the World Hurdle.

  
  

  The legendary 11-year-old, who is unbeaten in over hurdles and a four-time winner of the premier staying hurdle contest, hasn’t been seen on the racecourse since the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury on December 2012, having suffered a leg injury, and missed out on a potential fifth World Hurdle attempt in March as a result.
  Take a look at our Cheltenham Festival news.

• 2014 Gold Cup News

  
  Leading jockey Barry Geraghty believes that the state of the going in the Cheltenham Gold Cup will have a huge bearing on whether Bobs Worth can defend his crown this March.

  
  

  Nicky Henderson’s stable star bounced back to form with an impressive display in the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas and his sensational turn of foot in Ireland helped banish the memory of his dismal display in the Betfair Chase earlier this season.

  
  

  Despite the fact Bobs Worth got his head in front in the 2013 Gold Cup, Geraghty believes that the ground was too soft for the star that day and he’ll be hoping for quicker conditions this time around.

  
  

  Geraghty explained: "The Lexus was a top-class race with all the form horses there, so it was a really good race."

  
  

  "It was a good performance. He picked up well going to the last and quickened really well off the back of it.
  2014 Cheltenham Gold Cup latest news