ANY talk of the World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival has to involve the name of Thistle-crack, who won the JLT Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot before Christmas to become a strong favourite for the March contest.

It could be that the Colin Tizzard-trained gelding will not have to beat anything much better than he has beaten already this season and he was certainly impressive at Ascot but the clock suggests a degree of caution.