Nick Montgomery was frustrated at his side’s lack of cutting edge despite salvaging a point with an injury-time equaliser in a 2-2 draw against Motherwell.

Elie Youan fired Hibs into a deserved first-half lead after making a dominant start to proceedings at Easter Road.

They would find themselves pegged back seven minutes later, however, and Bevis Mugabi then nodded the visitors ahead shortly after the hour mark.

It looked like the Hibees were set for only their second home defeat of the season before Youan grabbed his second goal of the afternoon to earn them a share of the spoils.

“I’m not happy we didn’t win the game, I thought we did more than enough,” Montgomery said.

“The first 30 minutes we could have been 3-0 up, I don’t think anyone can deny that.

“We conceded a real sloppy goal from a throw-in, totally against the run of play and that was the disappointing thing.

“At the end of the game, coming back from 2-1 down at home in a game that I felt we should have been quite far ahead, I have to be happy to take a point – but I’m pretty sure they will be delighted to come here and take a point.”

The Hibs gaffer was delighted to welcome back Harry McKirdy for the first time since undergoing cardiac surgery in August.

The striker received a huge welcome from the home supporters following his introduction with four minutes remaining.

“We had Harry McKirdy coming back from a life-threatening injury,” Montgomery added.

“To put him on the pitch and see that, for me some things are more important than football.

“His energy when he came on, he lifted the crowd. If people saw Harry and what he’s been through on a daily basis, it has been really emotional today – we’re talking about a kid that didn’t know if he’d play football again.”

Well boss Stuart Kettlewell was disappointed after Youan’s late leveller denied his side the chance to record successive league victories for the first time since September.

Motherwell recovered from a poor start and falling a goal behind to take the lead at Easter Road.

The Steelmen looked set for an important three points before Youan’s strike deflected off Mugabi and beyond Liam Kelly.

“I’m really disappointed, probably just for the point of view that we knew Hibs would have a lot of the game and throw crosses into our box, the pace and the threat that they carry,” said Kettlewell.

“I felt at that stage of the game we were comfortable, I wasn’t sure that there was another chance there.

“I think we’re one clearance away from three points today. If young Georgie (Gent), who has been great for us, makes a good contact with the ball we probably go get the three points.

“When you look at the overall context of the game and where we’ve been, then I suppose it probably is not a bad point.”

The Well boss is aiming to strengthen his squad during the winter break as injuries and suspensions continue to cause selection headaches.

Motherwell had only 12 senior players available for the fixture at Easter Road, with Shane Blaney and Oli Shaw missing out through injury and Brodie Spencer serving a suspension.

“I’m a broken record and I’m not wanting anyone to feel sorry for me, when you hear a few complaints and a few murmurs of discontent from clubs around about Scotland – I’d urge them to look at our squad and what we are able to field at this time,” he added.

“We are depleted, I think I had 12 fit senior players available to me today which becomes a struggle.

“What we did show was a real unity on the pitch, you can see we are united, you can see we are together.

“We know as a football club from top to bottom that we absolutely need a bit of help and a bit of support – we need to bring in one or two.”

Steven Naismith praised in-form Hearts for overcoming a “rubbish” pitch at the Tony Macaroni Arena to tighten their grip on third place in the cinch Premiership with a 2-1 away win over Livingston.

The Jambos boss was braced for a scrap on the Lions’ artificial surface, and he was encouraged to see his team come out on the right side of it after second-half goals from Kenneth Vargas and top scorer Lawrence Shankland – who saw a penalty saved by Jack Hamilton at 0-0 – secured an eighth win in 11 cinch Premiership matches.

The victory took Hearts five points clear of fourth-placed Kilmarnock with a game in hand heading into the winter break.

“The pitch was rubbish, so I’m really pleased with the performance,” said Hearts boss Naismith. “It’s not a pitch you’re going to get any good football on so it becomes a battle.

“First half they got the better of the fight, they were picking up second balls. But second half we were much better at that and we had bits of quality.

“When we made our runs at the right times and played the right passes, we created chances.

“We got ahead, managed it well. We even had the setback of the penalty. I’ve played in Hearts teams that crumble at that point, so it was a big improvement.

“Overall this end to the year has been brilliant for us.”

Livingston – who pulled one back through an Andrew Shinnie penalty – go into the break six points adrift at the foot of the table after a 13th game in a row without victory.

Boss David Martindale felt Hearts forward Shankland, who scored his 18th goal of the season, was “the difference in the game”.

“He must be worth four or five million pound,” said the Lions boss. “We actually had some very good moments to win the game. There were a lot of positives bar the result.

“I felt it was a bit more of what I want from a Livingston team.

“But the top end of the park was the difference and Hearts have got a match-winner in their team.

“I know he misses the pen but the outside-of-the-foot finish for the second goal is fantastic.

“Our marking is diabolical, terrible. But that’s probably the difference: Lawrence Shankland.

“I look at him and compare him and he’s completely different from (Celtic striker) Kyogo but he’s slightly like (former Rangers forward Alfredo) Morelos.

“Lawrence has more in his overall game and a better mentality. When Morelos was at his prime, it’s a tough one but I’m probably taking Lawrence

“18 goals in all competitions, half-way through a season, is incredible numbers.

“It’s not just against us either, he’s scoring all types of different finishes against everyone.”

Barry Robson believes that Aberdeen looked like a “proper team” again in their 3-0 cinch Premiership win over Ross County.

Jamie McGrath’s first-half double was added to by Bojan Miovski late in the day, with the Dons in control for the vast majority of the match in Dingwall.

Robson’s side moved up to eighth in the table, four points above second-bottom County.

He said: “The boys played well, and from start to finish we looked really at it.

“We looked like a proper team, and I was really pleased for the players because it has been a long first half of the season being on our travels.

“It has worked for us at times when we’ve changed shape during games. I don’t know if people have seen, but we’ve tried to do that within games, so we started with it and it seemed to work.

“We thought that system might work against Ross County today, and it did. When we’ve been at our best, no matter what system we’ve played, it has been when we’ve pressed well and moved the ball quickly, and I think that’s what we did today.”

County boss Derek Adams admitted that Aberdeen deserved their win.

He was frustrated at the lack of goalmouth action County were able to generate, saying that despite approaching the game in the same sort of fashion they went into against Hearts at Tynecastle last weekend, they did not test Kelle Roos nearly enough.

“Aberdeen were better than us today,” Adams said.

“They scored their goals, and it was probably our fault because we didn’t defend well enough.

“Over the afternoon we didn’t create enough openings to score, and we didn’t work their goalkeeper enough, so over the afternoon Aberdeen deserved the three points.

“It wasn’t tactics, we just made errors. Looking at the goals, quite clearly you’ll see that the goals we gave away were poor goals.

“When you do that, there’s nothing you can do tactically other than put 10 behind the ball. When they go 2-0 up, it gives them a good footing in the game, and they were composed on the ball.

“We gave away a goal that we shouldn’t have, and that gave Aberdeen confidence. They have really good players in their side, and they punished us after that.”

Elie Youan struck late to rescue a point for Hibernian against Motherwell in a 2-2 draw in the cinch Premiership.

It looked as if the Steelmen were set for an impressive victory after Theo Bair and Bevis Mugabi cancelled out Youan’s opener.

Lewis Stevenson struck the crossbar as the hosts hunted for an equaliser and they would salvage a point in the first minute of injury-time when Youan’s shot found the net with the aid of a deflection.

Hibs remain sixth in the Premiership, while Motherwell dropped to ninth – eight points ahead of Livingston at the foot of the table.

Nick Montgomery was forced to reshuffle his squad with Rocky Bushiri, Lewis Miller, Martin Boyle and Jojo Wollacott all away on international duty.

Paul Hanlon returned to the starting line-up alongside Rory Whittaker, Youan and Christian Doidge, while Harry McKirdy made the bench – the first time the striker has featured since May.

Motherwell were without Shane Blaney and Oli Shaw who both sustained injuries in the win over Livingston, while Brodie Spencer was unavailable due to suspension. Mugabi, Harry Paton and Callum Slattery were handed starting-berths having been introduced from the bench against Livi.

Hibernian started brightly, and Jair Tavares did well to burst into the box and send over a tantalising cross that somehow evaded all inside the area.

Tavares was involved again on seven minutes when he produced another dangerous delivery that required an important clearance from Georgie Gent.

The Steelmen had their first effort on goal as Mika Biereth glanced past the post, though they nearly found themselves behind a minute later.

Doidge did well to spin inside the box and it took a superb stop from Liam Kelly to deny the Welsh international from breaking the deadlock.

A good block from Slattery diverted Dylan Levitt’s goal-bound strike behind after the Motherwell defence was cut apart by a well-worked corner, but Hibs would eventually make the breakthrough their dominance merited in the 28th minute.

Youan skipped past two defenders before unleashing a low shot beyond the keeper and into the bottom corner.

Motherwell had been on the back-foot for much of the opening 35 minutes but they would grab an unexpected equaliser with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.

Biereth slipped the ball through to Bair who coolly dispatched past David Marshall for his third goal in two matches.

Boosted by their leveller, Well almost took the lead when Marshall was forced to palm away Paton’s strike and Slattery should then have done better when the rebound broke his way.

There was little in the way of goalmouth action at the beginning of the second half, though Motherwell would go ahead shortly after the hour mark.

Levitt was shown a yellow card for a cynical foul on Gent and the visitors would profit from the resulting free-kick. Blair Spittal’s delivery was cleared as far as Stephen O’Donnell who headed the ball to Biereth who then flicked it on to Mugabi to nod home from close-range.

A crucial tackle from Mugabi stopped Rudi Molotnikov from racing through on goal and Motherwell were then saved by the woodwork after Stevenson crashed an effort from the edge of the box against the crossbar.

Montgomery introduced McKirdy in an attempt to salvage something from an encounter that was quickly getting away from Hibs, and they would level matters in added time.

Youan’s effort struck Gent and drifted past the Well keeper to earn the home side a share of the spoils.

Kenneth Vargas and Lawrence Shankland scored second-half goals as in-form Hearts eked out a 2-1 win at struggling Livingston to tighten their grip on third place heading into the cinch Premiership winter break.

The Jambos – whose top scorer Shankland saw a penalty saved at 0-0 – endured a nervy finale after Livingston pulled one back through an Andrew Shinnie spot-kick.

But they held firm to make it eight wins in 11 league matches since the start of November, a run that has allowed them to sign off for the winter break five points clear of fourth-placed Kilmarnock with a game in hand. Livi, by contrast, were left six points adrift at the foot of the table after a 13th game in succession without victory.

Both sides made five changes each after disappointing results at the weekend. Livi’s alterations included goalkeeper Jack Hamilton taking over from Shamal George, while new Australian striker Tete Yengi was listed among the substitutes. Hearts boss Steven Naismith handed Austrian midfielder Peter Haring a first start since mid-September.

Livi started brightly and Ayo Obileye saw a header from a James Penrice corner well saved by Hearts keeper Zander Clark in the second minute.

The Lions thought they had gone ahead in the ninth minute when Kurtis Guthrie powered home a header from a Shinnie cross. However, a full three minutes after the ball nestled in the net, the goal was disallowed as the scorer was deemed to be offside following a VAR review.

Hearts struggled to get a foothold early on but they started to create some chances as the half wore on. Shankland prodded an effort over in the 32nd minute before the Jambos captain glanced a header off the crossbar, two minutes later. Vargas then shot over from just inside the box, on the stroke of half-time.

The Jambos started the second period on the front foot and Vargas fired just wide after driving forward to the edge of the box.

Hearts were awarded a penalty in the 48th minute when Lions skipper Michael Devlin fouled Alan Forrest as he ran on to a through pass from Alex Cochrane.

Shankland – who missed a spot-kick against Hibernian last Wednesday – fired the ball straight down the middle and saw his effort saved by the legs of Hamilton before Toby Sibbick headed the rebound over.

The breakthrough came for the visitors in the 52nd minute when Vargas ran on to a lovely pass from Forrest, burst into the box and slotted low beyond the exposed Hamilton.

After Obileye tried to conjure an equaliser with a shot that deflected just over, on the hour mark, Hearts doubled their lead in the 63rd minute when Shankland guided home his 18th goal of the season with the outside of his right foot after being set up by Forrest just inside the box.

Livi got themselves back in the game with 12 minutes remaining when Shinnie tucked home a penalty after Frankie Kent was deemed to have handled in the box following a VAR review, but Hearts held firm for a fourth win.

There were joyous scenes at Ayr on Tuesday when 17-year-old Ben Smith rode his first ever winner on Follow Charlie, trained by his father, Mike.

Having just his fourth ride under rules, the teenager punched the air on crossing the line, delighted to get off the mark.

Sent off a 17-2 chance in the Ayr Completes Juilia’s Racecourse Journey Handicap Hurdle, he came home 10 lengths clear of Lewa House.

Ben Smith said: “It was just my fourth ride, my second at Ayr and I’m absolutely over the moon, I’m delighted.

“I nearly won on him on my first ever ride. I’d say he was runner-up to a well-treated winner (Gamigin) who has won again since, that filled us with a bit more confidence coming here today and the step up in trip was always going to suit him.”

On returning to unsaddle, the youngster performed a flying dismount and said: “I’m not quite Frankie (Dettori) yet but I’ll keep trying!

“I just naturally progressed through pony racing, point-to-points and showjumping there was never anything else I was going to do.”

Mike Smith said: “I was very emotional, I was nearly crying but if you can’t get emotional about that, what are you in the sport for.

“To do it here, almost home turf, ridden by my son, a horse we bought for handy money (£2,500) – it’s fantastic.”

There was not such good news for Derek Fox who was taken to hospital with a suspected shoulder injury after his mount, Clovis Bay, fell on the flat.

The rest of the card was dominated by Northern Ireland-based Stuart Crawford, who enjoyed a treble.

Ballycoose (13-8 favourite) won the Ayrshire Wedding Show Novices’ Handicap Chase while Joshua Des Flos (4-7 favourite) was an easy winner of the Quiz Night At Golf Inn Prestwick Maiden Hurdle, with both ridden by Daryl Jacob.

JJ Slevin came over to ride Ailie Rose (6-4 favourite) in the Golf Inn Prestwick Handicap Hurdle.

Crawford is a regular visitor to the track and told Racing TV: “Apart from Down Royal and Downpatrick, this is almost our local track.

“It’s quicker for us to get here than going to the south of Ireland and it’s very easy because for two hours of that journey you are asleep on the boat or reading the paper.

“Joshua Des Flos has been here the last twice and he’s been beaten by nice horses, the novice hurdles here are as competitive as you get anywhere, they take a bit of winning – the big difference today was the softer ground.”

Aberdeen were rarely troubled as they moved clear of the cinch Premiership relegation places with a 3-0 win at fellow strugglers Ross County.

A first-half double from Jamie McGrath was added to in the 80th minute by Bojan Miovski, who took his personal tally to 15 goals across all competitions this season.

The win lifted the Dons four points above second-bottom County.

A cagey start saw both teams trying to gain the upper hand tactically, with County’s midfield being put under plenty of pressure by the Dons’ high press.

That made it difficult for the Staggies to consistently play in the Aberdeen half, and it was the visitors who got the first goal.

Miovski recovered well after his shot was blocked by Jack Baldwin to send a cross into the middle, and in line with the back post McGrath was able to control the ball and leave Ross Laidlaw powerless to prevent it finding the bottom corner.

The same player doubled the Dons’ advantage on the hour mark, this time taking advantage of a piece of magic from Leighton Clarkson to weave past Ryan Leak and tee McGrath up for a tap-in.

County’s best chance of the first half fell for Simon Murray, who cut inside from the left channel to force Kelle Roos into a reaction save at his near post.

Aberdeen thought they had extended their lead even further shortly after the restart, only for the offside flag to go up after they had the ball in the net.

They also thought they had a claim for a penalty when back-to-back shots were blocked inside the County box, but VAR helped confirm that no spot-kick was necessary.

County struggled to land a punch on their opponents, even into the latter stages, with the Dons content to counter-attack into space when the opportunity presented itself.

One such occasion led to their third goal. Miovski ended up in a foot race with Baldwin, and got the better of the Staggies captain to squeeze a shot past Laidlaw and seal the points for Aberdeen.

There was a further late blow for Ross County, who saw Baldwin sent off for clattering into Ester Sokler when the Dons forward would have been through on goal.

Airdrie earned back-to-back cinch Championship victories with a 2-0 win against Inverness.

The hosts went close in the early stages when Charlie Telfer’s free-kick flew past a post and Mason Hancock had a low effort saved by Mark Ridgers.

The Inverness goalkeeper was called into action again to deny Gabby McGill from a corner and the hosts had another chance 10 minutes into the second half when Rhys McCabe’s curling effort went wide.

Airdrie eventually broke the deadlock in the 61st minute when Nikolay Todorov headed home from a corner to send them in front and Inverness had a chance to equalise in the 82nd minute when Cameron Harper’s shot was blocked by Callum Fordyce.

Fordyce then wrapped up the win three minutes later, heading home from Telfer’s free-kick for Airdrie to move fourth in the table.

Firefox and Ile Atlantique are on course to meet for a second time in the Lawlor’s of Naas Novice Hurdle on Sunday.

Gordon Elliott’s Firefox came out on top in a Fairyhouse bumper last April by three-quarters of a length from Willie Mullins’ Ile Atlantique.

Since then, Firefox has won another bumper at Down Royal in November before beating the highly-regarded Ballyburn, a winner recently, on his hurdling debut at Fairyhouse.

Ile Atlantique created a big impression on his first run over hurdles when winning by 19 lengths at Gowran.

Both trainers have other strong possible contenders, too.

Elliott has left in Croke Park and Jigoro, while Mullins could also run Chapeau De Soleil, Lecky Watson, Readin Tommy Wrong and Mystical Power, the son of Galileo and Annie Power.

The only other two possible runners are Tom Mullins’ Fascile Mode and Henry de Bromhead’s promising An Tobar.

The latter was last seen finishing third in the Royal Bond when sent off favourite. The winner, Farren Glory, looked like following up in the Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree until falling late on.

“An Tobar is in good form and goes to Naas on Sunday, all being well,” said De Bromhead’s race planner Robbie Power.

“It has been a great Christmas for An Tobar’s owners, Robcour and the Acheson team.

“We had An Tobar and Slade Steel kept over Christmas for this race at Naas but it is just going to come a bit soon for Slade Steel, so An Tobar will go and try to emulate what Bob Olinger did in 2021, before he went on to win the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe held meetings at Old Trafford on Tuesday in his first visit to the home of Manchester United since the billionaire’s deal to buy a 25 per cent stake in the club was announced on Christmas Eve.

Ratcliffe was joined by INEOS director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford and executive Jean-Claude Blanc, who are both due to join United’s football board once Ratcliffe’s investment has been ratified by the Premier League.

Further meetings are due to take place at both Old Trafford and the club’s Carrington training ground during the ratification process, which is expected to take several weeks.

Under the terms of Ratcliffe’s £1.2billion deal to purchase a stake in the club from the Glazer family, his INEOS group will take responsibility for United’s footballing operations, and the meetings are intended to help his team get to know the club and to inform planning.

Former British Cycling boss Brailsford was in the stands for United’s come-from-behind home win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day, and for Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest.

United’s next match is the FA Cup tie away to League One Wigan on Monday evening.

Barry Connell’s Marine Nationale has the rest of his season mapped out after a perfect start to his chasing career.

The gelding was flawless in bumpers and over hurdles, winning two National Hunt Flat starts before taking three successive novice hurdle races last season.

The latter two of those performances were at Grade One level, firstly in the Royal Bond at Fairyhouse and then the Supreme at the Cheltenham Festival, where he was a superb winner ahead of Facile Vega.

His chasing debut came in a beginners’ contest at Leopardstown on December 27, where he was steered by Michael O’Sullivan to a foot-perfect eight-and-a-half-length win.

The Irish Arkle, the Arkle and then the Punchestown Festival is the route drawn out for him and Connell reports the bay to be faring well as he moves towards his next engagement.

“We couldn’t be happier with the way he’s come out of the race,” the trainer said.

“He jumped great, never made a mistake and he seems to be in great nick.

“He’s had a couple of quiet days, he’ll start back riding out tomorrow and we’ll be building up to the Irish Arkle at the Dublin Racing Festival.

“From next weekend it’s only three weekends away, so it won’t be long at all coming around.

“The spin he had at Christmas should leave him spot on, it’s the exact same course and distance and the ground will hopefully be a bit drier, but he has proven he can run on any ground.

“We wouldn’t want to see him on bottomless but he’s probably a bit more ground versatile than we thought.

“He’s in a good place, he’s happy and we’re looking forward to him hopefully doing the same in Dublin and after that we’ll be on to the Arkle.”

The seven-year-old had to do more than just win to impress onlookers as his reputation is significant, but he still managed to surpass high hopes – particularly with the accurate round of jumping he produced.

“Even if you’re Constitution Hill, when the season ends and a new one starts you kind of have to go back to basics and prove yourself all over again,” Connell said.

“We liked what we were seeing at home but of course we were apprehensive going into the race, just hoping everything would go right and nothing silly would happen.

“He exceeded our expectations in how well he’s taken to fences, he’s going to be going to Cheltenham on the back of a beginners’ race and a Grade One and that’s the exact same profile he had last year when he went with a maiden hurdle win and a Royal Bond win.

“He won’t lack for experience when he’s been around Leopardstown for a second time, they’re big fences there and it’s quite a daunting thing for a novice to go around there, but if he can do similar there in three weeks, he’ll be well set up for the challenges afterwards.

“We have him back in the same order as last year and he’s proven he can jump really quickly and efficiently. I know he’s a short-priced favourite for the Arkle now but I think that’s probably justified based on what he’s achieved so far.”

Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique wishes he could be playing for a title every week as he bids to land his first trophy with the club on Wednesday.

The Ligue 1 champions can open 2024 by claiming more silverware as they take on French Cup holders Toulouse for the Champions Trophy at the Parc des Princes.

PSG, winners of the trophy in nine of the past 10 years, go into game as strong favourites having opened up a five-point lead at the top of the table while Toulouse languish in the bottom three.

Enrique, the former Barcelona and Spain manager who took charge last summer, told reporters at a press conference: “We have the opportunity to play a match to win our first title this season, so that’s a source of motivation.

“Our aim is to win every title possible. It would be a reward for all the work we put in last year, so of course we’re very motivated.

“I’d love to be able to play for a trophy every week, like all the players.

“Of course, the motivation is greater than any normal league match. It’s going to be played at ‘home’ but as a neutral ground, so I imagine the atmosphere will be great.”

Toulouse have found the going tough under new manager Carles Martinez Novell on the domestic front but they finished second to Liverpool in their Europa League group.

Enrique expects them to be highly motivated and is taking nothing for granted.

He said: “Paris Saint-Germain lives for this type of match but both teams will be motivated.

“They’re a team that can do a lot with the ball and if you give them time, they’re very good at occupying space. Without the ball, they can also perform well.”

The game comes after PSG began the January transfer window by completing the signing of Brazilian defender Lucas Beraldo.

He could be the first of a number of additions.

Enrique said: “If I can have several players available in each position, I’d obviously be delighted.

“We’ll be paying close attention during this transfer window and we’ll see if there are any opportunities that allow us to improve the team.”

Ousmane Dembele is the latest addition to the PSG injury list with a hamstring problem but back-up goalkeeper Arnau Tenas is available after a shoulder issue.

With the dust settling on Hewick’s fairytale King George VI Chase victory at Kempton on Boxing Day, Shark Hanlon has finally had time to take in what victory in the showpiece race means to a yard of his size.

Hewick’s name now sits proudly on the roll of honour alongside some of the greatest chasers to have raced, like Arkle, Pendil, Wayward Lad, Desert Orchid and Kauto Star.

He was already a Galway Plate and American Grand National winner, but a Grade One at level weights against a field full of previous top-level winners took his achievements to a new level.

A crack at the Cheltenham Gold Cup now awaits, having run well until falling late in the contest last season, but after seeing Galopin Des Champs bounce back to his best over the Christmas period, Hanlon would only take on last year’s winner on his preferred good ground.

“It’s only when you get home and look at the trophy and remember some of the greats who have won it, all the right ones, that you realise what he has achieved,” said Hanlon.

“Good ground is so important to him. He’s not a big horse and he needs good ground. With the way the weather has been the last two years, he has been very hard to place.

“Had the race been at Leopardstown, I probably wouldn’t have run. The only reason we went over was for the good ground and it was only just good enough.

“Willie’s (Mullins) horse (Galopin Des Champs in the Savills Chase) was very, very impressive though. I’m hoping by the time March comes around the ground is good because I don’t think anything will beat Willie’s horse on soft ground.

“The only chance we’d have of beating him is on good ground. Cheltenham last year wasn’t good enough for him – hopefully this year the ground is good enough for him. If the ground was soft, I’d say we wouldn’t run.

“If it’s soft in March, I’d probably wait for the National, because usually the ground in Aintree is fairly good.”

Hewick has bounced out of the race in great form and Hanlon feels the strong pace throughout enabled the gelding’s endless stamina to come into play.

“He came home out of the race 100 per cent, he’s fresh as a daisy and I could run him again today,” he said.

“In my opinion, they all went too hard. We have a horse who made the running in the Galway Plate and the Gold Cup, and to make the running in those races you’ve got to go hard – and he couldn’t lie up.

“I think they went a million miles an hour. You had Ryanair winners (Allaho and Frodon) and an Arkle winner (Shishkin) taking each other on – they were going a two-mile pace.

“They jumped off, went a real good clip and Gavin (Sheehan) said they quickened again from six out. They were taking each other on the whole way. It happens every time, you’ve really got to stay.

“The only chance we have of beating Willie’s horse (at Cheltenham) is good ground, so we’ll be hoping it dries up. If it’s good ground, we’ll definitely take him on.”