Donald McCain remains confident Peddlers Cross will be back to his brilliant best when he lines up in the Racing Post Arkle Trophy at Cheltenham next month.
One of the most exciting recruits to the chasing game in many a year, Peddlers Cross did everything right on his first couple of starts over fences at Bangor, but he was firmly put in his place by Sprinter Sacre at Kempton over Christmas.
"Peddlers is grand. He's working away and we've decided we're going to go straight to Cheltenham because the races that were available didn't really fit in with what we wanted to do," said McCain.
"We'll get him A1 for the big day and it's all systems go. Plan A is the Arkle. He came back from Kempton pretty much wrong everywhere. He was very sore, which he has never done before. It fully justified his run. We tidied everything up and he seems in great nick.
"His work the day before Kempton was as good as ever and he's either done something in the race or something in that piece of work.
"I don't think there's ever been a day when Peddlers Cross hasn't worked like a machine and that hasn't changed at all, so I don't see any reason to panic. He's very special."
Also carrying the colours of owner Tim Leslie is the likeable Overturn, winner of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle earlier this season.
He has since been placed at Cheltenham and Kempton in top-class company and McCain feels he has enough about him to be in the mix in the Champion Hurdle.
The trainer told At The Races: "I would expect him to be in the first four. He wasn't quite as sharp as he could have been in the International (at Cheltenham) and he definitely wasn't at Kempton. That puts him right in the mix.
"You wouldn't go expecting to beat Hurricane Fly, but a bouncing Overturn would be able to compete with most of them. He could run a big race."
