Pipe strikes with Osana

David Pipe completed a brilliant afternoon when Osana led from pillar to post in the Boylesports International under Paddy Brennan at Cheltenham.

Brennan made sure there was no hanging around and made full use of the 8lb he was getting from champion hurdler Sublimity, who made eyecatching headway before fading markedly on the run to the last.

Katchit emerged as the major contender but Osana (7-1) powered away again to emerge as a credible Champion Hurdle contender. Penzance stayed on for third. The race was marred by a serious injury to Macs Joy.

Brennan said: "He's some horse, I really enjoyed that. They said he was was ready and he meant business. He jumped super - Tom Scudamore (injured stable jockey) has a lot to look forward to.

"He missed the last but then I was away again.

"The Pipes are back - horses that make all and keep kicking. He's good enough for a crack at the Champion Hurdle."

Pipe added: "This is the biggest day of my career. He has always been a good horse and the plan had been to go to the Ladbroke next week, but he would have been giving weight away.

"If he was ever going to beat those good horses it would have been today getting weight. He improved for his first run and this was his Champion Hurdle.

"The plan was to see how we got on today before deciding about the future. I'll have to speak to the owner as novice chasing was an option, but if he's 7-1 for the Champion Hurdle it looks like we'll have to continue down that route."