Hussar fits the bill

Racing Hennessy Gold Cup: Punters continue to search out soft-ground specialists in the ante-post markets for tomorrow's Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup at Newbury, despite yesterday being a dry day at the track.

And it was Irish Hussar who was all the rage again with William Hill yesterday, as the Leeds-based layers cut his price again to 9-2 for tomorrow's showpiece.

The Nicky Henderson-trained chaser was only given the go-ahead to take his place in the line-up earlier this week as the ground started to ease.

With more rain on the way, Hill's spokesman David Hood said: "Punters are cottoning on to this and looking for horses with proven stamina, who they think will act in soft ground.

"Irish Hussar fits the bill, just like Joss Naylor and Hedgehunter, who we have already seen a lot of money for in the last 48 hours."

Irish Hussar has been confirmed as the biggest liability of Ladbrokes, with spokesman Balthazar Fabricius saying: "We are worried about him as he has a great chance.

"We have been trimming Irish Hussar bit by bit during the week and there has been a consistent run of support for Nicky Henderson's horse."

Newbury's estate manager Richard Osgood reported yesterday the forecast indicates rain could be expected in the run-up to the race.

"We have had a dry today but we are expecting around five millimetres of rain on Friday night into Saturday," Osgood explained.

"Although we have good ground now I would not be surprised if it had changed again by the time racing starts."

Coral: 11-2 Irish Hussar, 6-1 Strong Flow, 13-2 One Knight, 7-1 Shardam, 8-1 Joss Naylor, Sir Rembrandt, 9-1 Hedgehunter, 11-1 Haut Cercy, 16-1 The Premier Cat, 20-1 Take The Stand, Gunther McBride, Stormez, Barrow Drive, 25-1 bar.