The Terry Warner-owned grey is 9-4 favourite to become the "rst "ve-year-old since See You Then in 1985 to lift the hurdling crown.

"He did a bit of work this morning which was good and we've got 10 days to go and hope everything keeps going OK, " Hobbs said.

Hobbs also reported that his string were well on the road to recovery following a bout of coughing.

"As soon as there was a bit of press coverage saying the horses were coughing, things started to get a lot better and they are all much healthier. There are only a few coughing now and they are nearly all over it.

Hopefully they are all going the right way, " he added.