Kerry Lee is prepared to roll the dice and allow Nemean Lion to take his chance in the Unibet Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

The seven-year-old has had a successful campaign so far, which began in October when he won the Welsh Champion Hurdle by a length and a half on debut.

He was fifth in the Greatwood at Cheltenham next time out and then ran an admirable race under a considerable amount of weight to finish the runner-up when stepping up in trip in the Lanzarote.

The Golden Horn gelding then tried Grade Two level to contest the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton, a scaling back in trip as the race is run over a mile and seven furlongs.

There he was the 6-5 favourite under Richard Patrick and justified those odds when securing a length and a half success over fellow Champion Hurdle entrant Colonel Mustard.

The success has seen his mark rise from 145 to 151, and he is set to take his spot in a Champion Hurdle that this year might prove just more open than initially presumed.

“He’s been really good since Wincanton, he came out of the race very well,” said Lee, speaking before the market for the race was disrupted by the news that reigning hero Constitution Hill was a doubt after a below-par racecourse gallop on Tuesday morning.

“He loved the conditions and ran a great race, it was lovely to watch and we were really pleased with him.

“He wasn’t stopping at the end of the Lanzarote but he relished the two miles too, you’d have to say he was even better over the two.

“It’s all systems go for the Cheltenham Festival now, his target is going to be the Champion Hurdle.

“There are very few options for him and as long as the ground is good to soft or softer, he will run.

“It looks to be wide open for third and realistically in racing, anything can happen.

“I think off 151 he deserves the chance to prove himself so we can see what he can do.

“It is a pleasure to have such a good horse, we’ll keep our fingers crossed that he can go and run a good race but as long as he comes back safe and well then we’ll be happy.”

Kerry Lee’s Nemean Lion has a whole host of options open to him after coming home the runner-up in the Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle.

The seven-year-old began his season by winning the Welsh Champion Hurdle, a length-and-a-half success that then led him to Greatwood at Cheltenham where he was fifth under the burden of 12st.

In the Lanzarote only one of his 18 rivals shouldered more weight than him and under Richard Patrick he produced another fine run to go down by a length and a quarter to Dan Skelton’s Jay Jay Reilly.

The run was a step up to two miles and five furlongs for the gelding and provided ample proof that the extended trip was to his liking, leaving an array of hurdle races open to him as the season progresses.

“I was absolutely delighted with him, these big handicaps are a lottery and he was giving away a lot of weight,” said Lee.

“I think he’s run incredibly well, I’m very proud of him.

“He’s given us a lot more options after that, we can really shop around for which way to go now.”

Nemean Lion was a well-regarded performer on the Flat before joining Lee, finishing second in the Group Two Prix Chaudenay on his final start for Andre Fabre in 2020.

Over two years off the track followed due to injury and while soft ground is not mandatory, Lee is naturally mindful of preserving the horse’s soundness after waiting so long to campaign him under the National Hunt code.

“I think he’s proven that he doesn’t need soft ground, it’s just that he is so fragile,” she said.

“When a horse has had two years off the track, you’ve got to respect that they’ve had an injury that could recur if you run them on the wrong ground.

“I’m very careful with him, I thought the ground at Kempton was absolutely beautiful and I walk the track every time before running him – or not as the case may be.”

Nemean Lion, who is by Golden Horn, holds entries in a host of races including the two key hurdle events at the Cheltenham Festival, though the Stayers’ is now more likely than the Champion Hurdle after his performance at Kempton.

“We’ve got to look at all our options, literally every single one of them, and get our heads together based on how the horse comes out of the race,” said Lee.

“We’ll look at everything, he has a cheeky entry in the Stayers’ and I think that would be a more likely option now than the Champion Hurdle – exciting times.”

Kerry Lee is relishing the chance to step Nemean Lion up in trip in Kempton’s Coral Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle.

The seven-year-old has been a consistent performer for the Bell House handler and, following an encouraging novice campaign, won the Welsh Champion Hurdle on his reappearance before running with credit in the Greatwood.

However, having shown staying prowess on the Flat and also finding the scoresheet over an extended two-and-a-quarter miles at Kelso during his novice season, Lee has decided now is the time to try Nemean Lion’s hand over further.

She said: “It’s very exciting and as a Flat horse back in the day, he was a winner over staying trips and he was second in the Group Two Prix Chaudenay on heavy ground over two miles at Longchamp. On that basis, you have to assume he will get a trip.

“Possibly his best run to date was in a Grade Two at Kelso last spring, where he did all his best work at the end of the race and that was over two-and-a-quarter miles. This is only another couple of furlongs and there is no reason to doubt he will stay.

“He’s only just turned seven and I think Golden Horn horses are a little bit slower to mature than some, so he might just be coming into his prime.”

A quick look against Nemean Lion’s name will show entries for both the Champion Hurdle and the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

However, those lofty ambitions are firmly on the back burner for the time being, with Lee appreciating her stable star faces yet another stern challenge in the Kempton feature.

She added: “He’s got some crazy Cheltenham Festival entries in the Champion Hurdle and the Stayers’ Hurdle just in case things go exceptionally well, but I think you have to treat this kind of race with the respect it deserves and there are a lot of good horses in here.

“You’ve got a Betfair Hurdle winner (Aucunrisque) in there and Sonigino, who won well at Aintree before Christmas, not to mention Nicky Henderson’s runners – and it’s a very hot race.

“But Nemean Lion is a great horse and, off 140, we’re actually pleased not to be carrying top-weight for once. He’s a great horse to have and a lot of fun. He’s in rude health and has been ready to run for three weeks or so now and we’ve hung on to him until we got the ground we want for him.”

Nicky Henderson has won the Lanzarote four times in the past and saddles progressive pair Impose Toi and King Alexander in search of victory number five.

The former was only a neck away from registering a hat-trick when mistakes at the final two flights of hurdles ultimately stopped him reeling in stablemate Luccia, but now has the chance to gain some compensation and is the big-race favourite with the sponsors.

“He ran a cracker at Ascot and just missed the last two a little bit,” said Frank Berry, racing manager to owner JP McManus.

“He was probably a little bit unlucky, but this is a nice race for him and Nicky is very happy with him. We’ll learn a bit more about him and we’re looking forward to it and hoping for the best.”

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls is also double-handed, with Ditcheat number one Harry Cobden electing to ride impressive Aintree scorer Sonigino and Bryony Frost taking the reins aboard Irish Hill.

“The Lanzarote has been the plan for Sonigino from the moment he bolted in at Aintree early last month,” Nicholls told Betfair when assessing the seven-year-old’s chances.

“He has progressed nicely this season and was well suited by stepping back up in trip at Aintree, where he looked like the winner a long way from home.

“The key to his improvement is that he is settling better in his races with experience. He was raised 6lb after Aintree and will not find things easy under top weight.”

It has been some time since Up For Parol has found the scoresheet, but Jamie Snowden’s eight-year-old made the podium in this race 12 months ago after being sixth in 2022 and now tries to make it third time lucky off an ever-decreasing mark.

Snowden said: “He’s run in this race the last two years and was only beaten eight lengths off a mark of 133 a couple of years ago and was third in it last year off 129, and he comes in it here off 126.

“We would have appreciated a little bit softer ground perhaps but he’s in good order and fingers crossed he can run a decent race.”

Joe Anderson hit the headlines with his miraculous recovery at Plumpton recently and now rekindles what has previously been a successful partnership with Neil Mulholland’s Mothill.

The six-year-old struck at Uttoxeter in the hands of Anderson in the spring and, after a pair of outings on the Flat, was ridden by Jonjo O’Neill Jr when hosing up at Sedgefield on Boxing Day.

“I would say that he has got a good old chance,” said Anderson. “It is a super competitive race, and he will have to step up again, but he is a progressive young horse that has the right sort of profile for a race like this, as he is a strong traveller that stays very well.

“He went up five pounds for his last win, but my claim takes care of that, and he did it nicely up at Sedgefield.

“He got the job done at Uttoxeter and then he was good at Sedgefield the other day. He hasn’t really raced in a big field, but this race should suit him and he is a horse going the right way.”

Kerry Lee’s Nemean Lion has the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle in his sights after a pleasing victory on seasonal debut at Ffos Las.

The six-year-old was a Grade Two-winning novice last season when taking Premier Novices’ Hurdle at Kelso but still looked to have taken strides forward with an assured round of jumping in the Welsh Champion Hurdle.

The latter run under rider Richard Patrick has seen his rating rise to 140, the mark he will carry at Cheltenham on November 19.

“He’s entered in the Greatwood, he’s had a pop this morning and he seems in great form,” said Lee.

“We’re very happy with the way he’s come out (of Ffos Las), he’s gone up 5lb so he goes into the Greatwood off 140 – onwards and upwards hopefully.

“He did everything right, he was much more the professional and it was really reassuring to see that, having been quite so novicey in his novice season.

“We’ve worked hard, Richard has worked hard to hone his jumping technique and he looked to really enjoy himself and relish the hurdles.”

Alongside a Grade Two success last term, Nemean Lion was also third in the Grade One Tolworth, though Lee is mindful that the gelding will need to step forward again if he is to mix it in the same company this year.

“For that to happen he’d need to be rated a little higher, so we’d need a good run in the Greatwood and then we can really look and see how to shape our season,” she said.

“The Greatwood isn’t the be-all and end-all and if the ground doesn’t lend itself then there are options, but for now we’ll focus on that and see what happens.”