Tyrrell Hatton has become the latest player to join LIV Golf and will make his debut in Mexico this week as part of Masters champion Jon Rahm’s team.

The world number 16 has career earnings of more than £20 million, having won six times on the DP World Tour and the 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational, but has not lifted an individual title for three years.

The 32-year-old had entered this week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA Tour, but will now contest the Saudi-funded breakaway’s first event of 2024 in Mayakoba.

Hatton is joined on Rahm’s Legion XIII team by former top amateur Caleb Surratt and Zimbabwe’s Kieran Vincent, who won his place via the LIV Golf Promotions event.

“I’m really excited for this next chapter, to link up with Jon Rahm and Legion XIII and to get started this week in Mexico,” Hatton said.

Hatton and Rahm won both of their matches together in last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome, the fiery characters earning the nickname of “Team Angry” as they helped Luke Donald’s European side regain the trophy.

Hatton’s defection will therefore be of huge concern to Donald as he attempts to spearhead a first Ryder Cup win on away soil since 2012 at Bethpage next year.

As things stand, Hatton will be eligible to qualify or receive a wild card as long as he remains a DP World Tour member, which requires him to play in four regular tournaments per season.

He will also earn points towards qualification through major championships, but faces fines and suspensions for playing in LIV tournaments without the required “conflicting event” releases from the DP World Tour.

In April last year, an arbitration panel ruled that the Tour had the right to sanction players for such “serious breaches” of its code of behaviour, a case sparked by 12 players appealing against fines of £100,000 and suspension from the Scottish Open for playing LIV’s inaugural event in June 2022.

It is understood that fines and suspensions are assessed on a case-by-case basis, with former LIV player Bernd Wiesberger having regained his DP World Tour membership after serving a ban and paying all of his fines.

Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood resigned their memberships in the wake of the arbitration panel’s decision, while Henrik Stenson was sacked as Ryder Cup captain after joining the Saudi-funded breakaway.

It remains to be seen if the LIV rebels will be handed a route back to the Ryder Cup via the ongoing negotiations between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls LIV Golf.

The initial December 31 deadline for the Framework Agreement to be formalised has been extended, but the PGA Tour is also reported to being on the verge of a deal with a consortium of US-based investors which includes Boston Red Sox and Liverpool owner John Henry.

Mistergif continued Willie Mullins’ successful January as well as the hot run of owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede with an impressive success on his Irish debut at Limerick.

Although banking plenty of experience in France, he arrived at Closutton a maiden, but nevertheless was sent off the 8-13 favourite for the Follow Limerick Racecourse On Twitter (C & G) Maiden Hurdle over two miles on testing ground.

The result was a formality as the five-year-old made all and cruised to an impressive 18-length success in the hands of Kieran Callaghan to give Mullins his fourth straight success in the race and also follow in the footsteps of State Man who was victorious in the 2022 renewal before marching to County Hurdle glory at the Cheltenham Festival.

Mistergif holds entries for both the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle at Prestbury Park and although connections may want to see more before he gets his ticket stamped for March, he brought up Mullins’ 40th winner for the month while adding to the recent victories of Zarak The Brave, Jasmin De Vaux and Anotherway in the ‘double green’ colours.

“He’s a horse by a stallion we like in Zarak,” said Anthony Bromley, racing manager to the owners, who will have the likes of El Fabiolo in action at the Dublin Racing Festival this weekend.

“He jumped very smoothly today, that was impressive the way he jumped. The horse in second was only rated 106, so we must not get too carried away.

“I think he will have to have another run to see where we are and in terms of if he’s a Festival horse or not. But he’s a really exciting prospect and it comes hot on the heels of Anotherway yesterday and the bumper horse on Sunday, so they are just hitting their stride at the right time.

“I don’t think there is any necessarily big targets for him, but we will have to run again and see where we are.”

Winning rider Callaghan added: “It was very straightforward. He had experience around Auteuil and loads of runs on the Flat as well as a younger horse.

“I was just worried that he was doing a bit too much early, but he was very good the way he picked up from the back of the second-last.

“He hit the line hard and I was at the first hurdle down the back pulling him up so it’s definitely a good sign on that ground.

“He couldn’t have done it much easier, and he has a chance of being a nice horse.”

No Flies On Him will head to Punchestown to continue his hurdling education next month after connections elected to miss the Dublin Racing Festival with the top novice prospect.

Trained by Edward O’Grady and owned by JP McManus, the five-year-old beat Nicky Henderson’s Grade One scorer Jango Baie in the pointing field before impressing on his rules debut at Leopardstown over the Christmas period.

He looked to be in line for a return to the Irish capital for the Grade One Tattersalls Ireland 50th Derby Sale Novice Hurdle on Sunday, but his name was missing from the list of acceptors at Tuesday’s confirmation stage.

Instead O’Grady will point his talented charge towards Kildare next month, where he will step up to Listed level in the Madigan Group Irish EBF Sheila Bourke Novice Hurdle.

“The horse is absolutely fine and in excellent shape, but we have decided to wait for Punchestown on February 18,” said O’Grady.

“We were pleased with what he did (on debut). I don’t know (if he’s improved) but we will find out.”

No Flies On Him holds an entries for both the Sky Bet Supreme Novices Hurdle – for which he is as short as 12-1 – and the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

When asked if a positive display at Punchestown could tee up a trip to Prestbury Park in March, O’Grady said: “I hope so, yes.”

Wales assistant coach Jonathan Humphreys knows from personal experience how “noisy and intimidating” the Principality Stadium can be for visiting teams.

And Scotland – Wales’ opening Guinness Six Nations opponents in Cardiff on Saturday – have found it tougher than most.

They have lost 11 successive games in the Welsh capital – nine Six Nations fixtures, a World Cup warm-up match and an autumn Test.

Humphreys was part of the Scotland coaching staff for two of those losses, a 51-3 reversal when Stuart Hogg was sent off in 2014 plus a 27-23 defeat two years later.

It is 22 years since Scotland last won at the venue, when current head coach Gregor Townsend lined up in a team that won by five points courtesy of injury-time penalties from Brendan Laney and Duncan Hodge.

The Scots did claim an away victory four years ago but that encounter was played at Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli, with the Principality Stadium being turned into a hospital during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I think people underestimate the stadium – how noisy and intimidating it is,” former Wales captain Humphreys said.

“When you are the other side of that it hits you. It is not a nice place to come, especially if Wales are on the front foot and going well and the crowd are behind them.

“That is a challenge in itself. I know lots of people talk about the atmosphere.

“When the stadium was built, there were a few of us who were asked our opinion from the old stadium, and what we wanted was the ability still to be enclosed like the old Arms Park was.”

Despite recent history, the bookmakers are confidently predicting a Scottish win against a Wales team without many familiar faces.

Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny retired from Test rugby after the World Cup, Liam Williams is playing in Japan and Louis Rees-Zammit has quit rugby union to try and forge an American football career.

Injuries have also hit Wales, with World Cup co-captains Jac Morgan and Dewi Lake set to miss the whole Six Nations along with 104 times-capped number eight Taulupe Faletau.

Almost half of Wales’ 34-strong Six Nations squad have cap totals in single figures, while they are captained for the first time by 21-year-old Exeter lock Dafydd Jenkins.

On the squad newcomers, Humphreys added: “It has been good. There is loads of energy, and they are lapping it up.

“The reason they are in here is because we feel they can play international rugby, and their form with the clubs has shown that.

“They are super-keen, super-hungry and they will have experience of Test rugby during this campaign.

“The level of expectation within the group is high. You are still expected to perform, you are still expected to win.

“We want to get these boys up and running as quick as we can, we want them to experience success as quick as we can. Whenever that comes, the sooner the better, really.

“It is difficult to tell people what it’s like to run out in front of 70,000 people in a Six Nations game.

“You can’t really prepare that. All you can do is try and mimic the intensity of what it is in training, and try and make it more intense and make sure this game does not pass you by.”

Connections of Lossiemouth are content to stick to the process and head to the Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival after dazzling in her Trials day return to action.

Last year’s Triumph Hurdle scorer had not been seen since adding to her Grade One haul at the Punchestown Festival, with trainer Willie Mullins electing to tread a different path with his juvenile graduates this season and keep them under wraps until turning five at the turn of the year.

Sent to the Unibet Hurdle for her seasonal bow – on the same day stablemate and regular adversary Gala Marceau headed to Doncaster – she delivered a breathtaking display to dominate her elders and firmly dispatch Love Envoi, who was left trailing the best part of 10 lengths behind in second.

The manner of victory opened up the tantalising prospect of Lossiemouth taking on the likes of Constitution Hill and State Man in the Champion Hurdle.

However, Plan A has always been to head to the Mares’ Hurdle 40 minutes later on the opening day of the Festival, where as a best price of 4-5 favourite, she would have a fine chance of following in the footsteps of Vroum Vroum Mag (2016) and Benie Des Dieux (2018) by winning the Grade One contest for owners Rich and Susannah Ricci.

“The team were pretty happy she was in great form beforehand and she clearly was, but I think the manner of the victory surprised all of us,” said the owners’ racing manager Joe Chambers.

“That was great to see and hopefully the patient approach we have taken with her will reward us as well as the season goes on.

“That (Mares’ Hurdle) has been the plan all along and continues to be the plan today. Things can change, but I think we will be leaning towards the Mares’ unless a number of things occurred to change our mind. She’s odds-on for one and 8-1 for the other.”

Meanwhile, there was a positive bulletin on Monkfish, who also sports the famous pink and green silks and made a winning return from 272 days off the track in the Galmoy Hurdle.

A Cheltenham Festival winner in both the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle and the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase, injury has meant he has not visited Prestbury Park since he was victorious in 2021.

He holds entries for both the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle and the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup this time around and although connections are set to make a late call on which race gets the nod, a return to fencing for a crack at the blue riband is a real possibility for the 10-year-old.

“It was magic to see (him win the Galmoy) and he did well on his return,” continued Chambers.

“Touch wood he has been sound since and we will try to keep him sound between now and March.

“Our inclination has always been to go back over fences, but let’s see how things shape up and the respective races shape up between now and March. A lot could change, but if we can keep him in one piece we look forward to running him wherever that may be.

“It could be (the Gold Cup) and that’s what we would like to do, but we are still six and a half weeks out from that and we will probably leave that decision to the week of Cheltenham.”

Galopin Des Champs and State Man will both face a maximum of four rivals in their respective bids for back-to-back victories at this weekend’s Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown.

Having bounced back to winning ways with a dominant display in the Savills Chase over the Christmas period, Galopin Des Champs will be a warm order to successfully defend his crown in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup before aiming to do the same in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March.

His biggest threat on Saturday appears to be a familiar rival in Martin Brassil’s Fastorslow, who took his measure in last season’s Punchestown Gold Cup and the John Durkan at Punchestown in December before sidestepping the Savills on account of the prevailing testing conditions.

As well as Galopin Des Champs, Willie Mullins could saddle I Am Maximus, while the potential field is completed by Gordon Elliott’s 2022 Irish Gold Cup hero Conflated and his stablemate Coko Beach.

Mullins is responsible for six of the nine horses still in contention for the first of eight Grade Ones over the course of the two days – the Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle – with Predators Gold and Loughglynn the two at the top of the market.

The Closutton handler also dominates the Spring Juvenile Hurdle, with runaway Punchestown winner Storm Heart and French recruit Salvator Mundi – second to last weekend’s brilliant Cheltenham winner Sir Gino on his only start in France – two of eight Mullins entries in a field of 13.

The only Grade One favourite not under the tutelage of the champion trainer is Barry Connell’s Marine Nationale, who will put his unbeaten record on the line in the Goffs Irish Arkle Novice Chase.

Mullins has left in Facile Vega, Gaelic Warrior, Il Etait Temps and Sharjah, although all four also retain the option of running in the the longer Ladbrokes Novice Chase on Sunday.

Gaelic Warrior and Sharjah both carry the familiar colours of Rich and Susannah Ricci, and their racing manager Joe Chambers has hinted the former could avoid a clash with Marine Nationale at this stage.

He said: “There isn’t any other options for him this side of Cheltenham and we will see what he is like going left-handed (over fences), whether that be two miles or over two-miles-five. It’ll be interesting to see how that pans out, especially down the back straight.

“He won over two miles there last year, albeit in a handicap hurdle, but Marine Nationale is a class act and I don’t see why we would want to take him on until we have to.

“With that being said, there are only eight left in the Irish Arkle, of which he and Sharjah are two. We will see and there is a long time until Saturday.”

Saturday’s action concludes with the Grade Two Future Stars (C & G) I.N.H. Flat Race, in which last year’s winner A Dream To Share is the star attraction among 13 confirmations.

On Sunday, State Man will be cramped odds to win his second Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle, with his stablemate Impaire Et Passe set to be in opposition again after chasing him home in the Matheson Hurdle last month.

Mullins could also run Echoes In Rain, while a resurgent Bob Olinger would be an intriguing challenger for Henry de Bromhead. Elliott’s Fils D’oudairies will be a huge outsider.

Joining Facile Vega, Gaelic Warrior, Il Etait Temps and Sharjah in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase is another Mullins ace in Fact To File, who is priced up as favourite at this stage.

Ballyburn is a short price for the champion trainer in the Tattersalls Ireland 50th Derby Sale Novice Hurdle, with Elliott’s Royal Bond victor Farren Glory clear second best in the market.

Following the abandonment of the original Clarence House Chase at Ascot, El Fabiolo will be widely expected to land the Ladbrokes Dublin Chase on his way to the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Mullins could also run Dinoblue, last year’s winner Gentleman De Mee and Saint Roi, De Bromhead has Captain Guinness and Brassil has left in Fastorslow as a back-up option to the Irish Gold Cup.

The Mullins theme continues in the concluding Coolmore N.H. Sires Hurricane Lane Irish EBF Mares I.N.H. Flat Race, with Aurora Vega and Baby Kate two of his major hopes.

Ruth Jefferson has pencilled in a February comeback at Haydock for Sounds Russian as she looks to get her stable star back on a racecourse for the first time since last season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The nine-year-old enjoyed a fine campaign over fences last term, winning at Kelso before finishing fourth in the Many Clouds Chase at Aintree and filling the runner-up spot in both the Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby and the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham.

Jefferson’s charge was a 50-1 shot for the blue riband last March, but was still in contention when he was brought down by the fall of fellow northern challenger Ahoy Senor and subsequently had to undergo surgery to repair a knee injury.

After coming through a pleasing workout with Saturday’s Grade Two-winning stablemate Kerryhill last week, Sounds Russian is closing in on a competitive outing.

“We were very happy with his first piece of work the other day, but he hasn’t schooled yet, I think that will happen next week,” said Jefferson.

“There isn’t a lot for him really, he’ll probably have to go to Haydock on February 17. I think there’s three races he can run in that day and apart from that there’s not much.

“He’s still a novice over hurdles or he could run in a handicap or there’s the Rendlesham Hurdle, which is obviously a Grade Two.

“His next run will be over hurdles. He’s about ready to run, whether he’ll be fully fit I don’t know and you’re obviously taking on fit horses at this time of year.”

While cautiously optimistic about the chances of Sounds Russian returning to the racecourse in the coming weeks, she is certainly not counting her chickens before they hatch.

She added: “He won’t be getting any entries over fences for the time being as it’s all about seeing how his knee holds up. At the moment he’s fine, but he might school and not be fine.

“Nothing’s guaranteed with him, he might run once and that might be it, you just don’t know. It’s a really funny situation to be in with him.

“We’ll just see, but I think all being well Haydock on February 17 will be where he’ll start – so it better be on!”

Sebastian Negri insists Italy are determined to show the World Cup was an aberration by delivering the upsets needed to make their Guinness Six Nations a success.

The Azzurri are overseen by new head coach Gonzalo Quesada, whose first assignment is plotting the downfall of England in Saturday’s opener at the Stadio Olimpico.

Quesada must repair the damage caused by heavy defeats to New Zealand and France – 96 points were leaked against the All Blacks – at last year’s World Cup, results that stalled the clear progress being made.

Wales and Australia were toppled in 2022 and in the ensuing Six Nations it was only a lack of conviction and accuracy that cost them in near misses against France and Scotland.

“The World Cup hurt, it really hurt. It was a setback but the good thing is that we’ve got the opportunity to make it right against some of the best teams in the world,” Negri told the PA news agency.

Italy have a win rate of only 11 per cent since joining the Six Nations and the powerful back row added: “It’s a tough tournament for us but what keeps us going is the belief that we can get the results we want.

“It’s hard. Judged on results, it is what it is at the end of the day. We have a responsibility in the Six Nations to get a couple of results and to keep on building on what we’ve built over the last 12-18 months.

“We had a few setbacks at the World Cup but we’ve come a long way in the way we play and we’re hoping to have a good, balanced Six Nations.

“We want to keep building because we’re on to something special, we have a really good group of young players who are gaining more and more experience.

“I wouldn’t be playing international rugby if I didn’t believe in the process we are going through.”

It would be a seismic upset for Italy to topple England for the first time in 31 meetings even if Steve Borthwick’s team are rebuilding after winning the bronze final at last autumn’s World Cup.

“England are a physical side with a really good set-piece and kicking game. We’ll have to match that and not go off the boil and start chucking the ball around,” Negri said.

“We need a balanced approach and if we underestimate them we’re in trouble. They showcased what they can do at the World Cup. They maybe don’t play the prettiest brand of rugby but they get results and that’s what counts.”

Emma Lavelle’s “extraordinary” Paisley Park is heading straight back to Cheltenham after another valiant run in defeat in the Cleeve Hurdle at the weekend.

The 12-year-old has been pipped to the post in all three starts so far this season, finishing second in the Long Distance Hurdle, the Long Walk Hurdle and then the Cleeve when never beaten by more than head.

The latter run was an epic battle with former Grand National winner Noble Yeats, after which Paisley Park was given a hero’s reception as he returned to the paddock.

He is an enduring fan favourite as he continues to shine in his eighth season, with the 11 victories on his CV including the 2019 Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

That race is again on the agenda, and the hugely-popular Andrew Gemmell-owned bay would undoubtedly raise the roof with the backing of an appreciative Cheltenham crowd in March.

Lavelle said: “He’s come out of the race really well, he gets all of the applause so he thinks he’s won the race regardless of whether he has!

“Based on how he’s come out of the race the plan would be to take him to the Stayers’ and just see what happens.”

Of his three incredibly near misses this season, the Wiltshire-based trainer added: “It’s not for a lack of trying from the racegoers that we haven’t been winning these races!

“They are just amazing with the support they have, they are just willing him to get over the line first.

“People are very emotional about him, he’s an extraordinary horse – how lucky are we to have him?”

Betfair’s ‘Rachael Blackmore Serial Winners Fund’ is closing in on its target as it aims to provide £250,000 for two worthy charities.

The initiative was kick-started by a £100,000 donation from Betfair, with £5,000 added for every Blackmore winner ridden between Betfair Chase Day in November last year and the Grand National at Aintree in April.

The target sum is £250,000 and with several weeks still to go there is already £155,000 in the pot before the upcoming festivals at Leopardstown, Cheltenham and Aintree.

The funds raised will benefit the Injured Jockeys Fund and the Irish Injured Jockeys, both charities that support current and former riders on either side of the Irish Sea.

Blackmore, an ambassador for Betfair, said: ‘It’s fantastic to see all the amazing work the Injured Jockeys Fund does to support jockeys at facilities like Oaksey House (in Lambourn).

“This is a very generous initiative from Betfair, one that will benefit the Irish Injured Jockeys too, and will go a long way to creating more support facilities, in both UK and Ireland.“

To illustrate the need for the backing of such valuable work, Betfair sent tipster Daryl Carter to Oaksey House in Lambourn for a special edition of their ‘Coaching Carter’ series, where he met the recipients of the charity’s ongoing support to the industry.

Among them was former jockey Wayne Burton, who suffered serious head and spinal injuries in 2008 and lives at Oaksey House after being left paralysed from the chest down.

Burton is training to complete the London Marathon in his wheelchair in April, and said of the role the IJF has played in his recovery: “I did lose my speech, my understanding of what things were and where I was – that was a really hard battle for me at the time.

“Without the IJF I wouldn’t be here today, this place was built a year after my accident so as soon as this was open I was one of the first jockeys to come here.”

Carter also spoke with George Baker, another former jockey who won the St Leger aboard Harbour Law in 2016 before suffering severe injuries in a fall on the ‘White Turf’ at St Moritz.

Baker had a bleed on the brain and spent a significant amount of time in hospital before being rehabilitated at Oaksey House, where he now works alongside being a trustee for the charity.

“I am a trustee for the Injured Jockeys Fund and I work here three or four days a week in my role as a jockey coach,” he said.

“The Injured Jockeys Fund were a massive help to me, I had a bad accident in 2017 in Switzerland, at St Moritz on the White Turf.

“I was hospital in London for three or four months, I think it was a harder journey for my family more than anything and the next phase of my rehab was coming here.

“They helped rebuild me, really. I had to learn to walk again. They were instrumental in getting me back to work, they asked me to be a trustee and I’m very, very happy to facilitate that because the Injured Jockeys Fund is so close to my heart.”

Owner Robert Waley-Cohen has hailed the genius of Emmet Mullins after his Grand National hero Noble Yeats forced his way into the Stayers’ Hurdle mix when claiming a thrilling Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Making just his third appearance over the smaller obstacles, the nine-year-old was the recipient of significant support in the week leading up to the Grade Two event and was sent off the 3-1 second-favourite behind the evergreen market leader Paisley Park.

It was the two main betting protagonists that would ultimately fight out a brilliant conclusion to a contest that saw six of the seven involved in with a shout jumping the last, before Noble Yeats and Paisley Park’s staying power saw them come to the fore with the post approaching.

Only a head separated the two warriors at the finish, as Mullins pulled off another successful raid on one of the calendar’s big races.

“Emmet, as we all know, is unorthodox, but with brilliance, and what could be more thrilling than Saturday,” said Waley-Cohen.

“It was an unbelievable race and it was literally down to the last stride. You could have taken quite a big bet turning into the home straight that the three in front wouldn’t finish in the first three. I was sorry we spoiled Paisley Park’s party, but not very.

“It was only his third ever hurdle race and he wouldn’t be as quick and slick as some of those pros. However, he ran vigorously up the hill and I don’t think he quickened as much as Paisley Park, but interestingly, if you look at after the finish, he goes right away from Paisley Park.

“I don’t think he saw Paisley Park on the far side of the course. I think he thought he had the horses near him beaten and didn’t see the others because as soon as he crossed the line and they came close together he went on again.”

He went on: “He was getting 6lb on the day from Paisley Park and that perhaps made all the difference, but that’s where Emmet’s genius lies because traditionally you would go hurdles, regulation steeplechase fences and then occasionally the best go to the Grand National.

“No one does it the other way round. He’s won a Grand National, so then going for a Grade Two hurdle is not normal.”

Noble Yeats was campaigned aggressively following his Grand National triumph in 2022, treading a path that saw his Aintree defence sandwiched by tilts at both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris last season.

Connections have plumped for a more considered route to Merseyside this time around and having been kept under wraps until running at Limerick over the Christmas period, he will continue to ply his trade over timber with a crack at the Stayers’ Hurdle set to tee-up this year’s Grand National bid.

“It was a great thrill (to win the Cleeve) and he had a very hard season last year,” continued Waley-Cohen.

“He won a Listed race at Wexford, won the Many Clouds Chase, came third in the Cotswold Chase, fourth in the Gold Cup, fourth in the Grand National and picked up money in the Grand Steeple. That is one hell of a year and he needed a properly good break afterwards.

“He came back to my place in Warwickshire and had a proper break and lots of TLC and we decided we needed a much more conservative plan this year and not run him at all until after Christmas.

“The race at Limerick didn’t suit him at all and he didn’t like the ground or the course, but Saturday just played into his hands.

“He’s entitled to take his chance (in the Stayers’), but whatever the outcome it will be great step to the National. It’s a better step for him than anything else and it sounds a bit bizarre to say a Grade One race is a prep, but it looks the suitable race.”

Noble Yeats is as short as 8-1 for the Stayers’ Hurdle and although he produced a performance that warrants his place in the Festival’s day three main event, Waley-Cohen has considerable respect for the Gordon Elliott-trained duo that are currently heading the ante-post betting.

He added: “I suspect when we are back at level weights there will be a few young horses from Ireland coming over and you don’t have to be a genius to fathom out that Teahupoo and Irish Point are really nice horses on the upgrade.

“One great thing Harry (Cobden) did riding him on Saturday, was ride him into hurdles with absolute confidence and the horse absolutely revelled in coming up that hill, so who knows, we dream, we always do.

“But in terms of getting to the National in first-class order, it’s a very good option and the National is really the target.

“Many would just go to something like the Bobbyjo (Chase) which is a recognised route to the National, but being the man he is, Emmet thinks this is the better route – he is definitely unorthodox.”

A tilt at the JCB Triumph Hurdle remains on Burdett Road’s agenda despite his defeat at Cheltenham on Saturday.

A winner at Royal Ascot in the summer for Michael Bell and the Gredley family, the four-year-old confirmed himself a top-class jumping recruit in winning his first two starts over hurdles at Huntingdon.

The son of Muhaarar was a marginal favourite to complete his hat-trick in Saturday’s Grade Two Triumph Hurdle Trial, but on the day he proved no match for Nicky Henderson’s Sir Gino, who rocketed 10 lengths clear and is now as short as evens for the juvenile championship at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Trainer James Owen acknowledges Burdett Road will have his work cut out in his bid to turn the tables on Sir Gino, but he is nevertheless happy to roll the dice.

“We bumped into a very good horse and the positive we can take from it is that we jumped better and he’s come out of it fine,” said the Newmarket handler.

“I think drier ground will help us. We’ve got to improve to bridge that gap, but he’ll have an easy week and he’ll be trained for the Triumph Hurdle – all systems go, basically.”

Owen is optimistic his charge can make more of a race of it in March, adding: “We were pleased in quite a few ways on Saturday as he jumped better and settled better, albeit he got keen at the top of the hill when they seemed to slow the race down.

“He was there at the right time to win the race and we were outclassed on the day, but he’s been beaten before on the Flat, he’s a hardy horse and he would have learnt more again.

“Drier ground, a bit of spring weather, I’m hoping a few things will help us bridge the gap. There were no excuses on our behalf though, we were beaten by a very good horse.

“I’m happy with my horse and not disappointed. There was a lot of hype and press about him before Saturday, which was great, but the pressure is off me a bit now and hopefully we can get a trouble-free run and get to Cheltenham in good health and hopefully he’ll run very well.”