JASON The Militant further bolstered Henry de Bromhead’s already tremendously strong Champion Hurdle hand as he returned from 104 days off the track to bolt up in the Grade 3 Red Mills Trial Hurdle.

From a yard that already houses Honeysuckle and Aspire Tower, the Peter Michael-owned and bred seven-year-old did his prospects for the two-mile hurdling crown no harm at all with a display of some authority.