http://www.racingpost.com/news/hors...ccompanied-to-skip-festival-says-weld/987009/ UNACCOMPANIED was on Sunday ruled out of the Stan James Champion Hurdle, for which she was as short as 16-1, with a view to bringing her back on the Flat later in the year. Owned and bred by Moyglare Stud, the five-year-old disappointed last week when beaten into a remote fourth by Hurricane Fly in the BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle last month. Weld said: âI told her owners she wonât be going to Cheltenham next month. She is fine and Davy [Russell] really looked after her when her chance was gone the last day and the plan now is to bring her back on the Flat at stakes level with the Alleged Stakes - a race she won last year - a strong possibility. "Weâll also look at running her at the Punchestown festival but she wonât be running in the Champion Hurdle.â The four-time winner over hurdles, successful in a Grade 1 at Leopardstown late last year, has also won three races on the Flat including the Listed Alleged Stakes at the Curragh last April. Pique Sous could be the horse to take Unaccompanied's spot on the ferry over for Cheltenham after he was a four-length winner of the bumper at Leopardstown on Sunday. The Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old was installed as 10-1 second favouritefor the Weatherbys Champion Bumper by William Hill. In short: This makes the places wide open in the Champion Hurdle, leaves Quevega looking a very strong favourite for the David Nicholson Mares hurdle.
I'm struggling to understand why they ran her in the Irish Champion Hurdle on that bad ground. She relished the underfoot conditions at the festival last year in the Triumph and I think she would have had genuine place claims in the Champion Hurdle on Gd/soft. I think she could go well in the big 2m4f race at Aintree but if they want to try and plunder some big flat prizes fair play to them.
This is a real shame - I hadn't backed her for much but I really think she could have chased HF home at Cheltenham.
Weld stated directly after the Irish Champion Hurdle that she wouldn't be going to the festival. Perhaps wait for Liverpool or most likely P'town.
