Tuesday 19th January - Nico de Boinville is looking forward to partnering dual Champion Hurdle winner Buveur D’Air for the first time in The New One Unibet Hurdle at Haydock Park on Saturday.

The Nicky Henderson-trained 10 year old, who stormed to back-to-back Champion Hurdle victories at the Cheltenham Festival in 2017 and 2018, is on course to make his first start in more than a year in the Grade Two race.

Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning jockey de Boinville will be the fifth person to ride Buveur D'Air in the UK, joining Noel Fehily, Barry Geraghty, Aidan Coleman and Davy Russell.

The JP McManus-owned gelding has not been seen on a racecourse since suffering a season-ending hoof injury during his surprise defeat on his sole start last term, when bidding for a hat-trick of wins in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle.

De Boinville, who is an ambassador for Unibet, said:

“As a jockey these are the types of rides you want to pick up and I’m very grateful to have been put forward for it. It was a complete freak of an accident he suffered at Newcastle (splinter in hoof). It was one of those things. I’ve never seen it before and I don’t think I will see it again.

“JP McManus’s team have worked wonders to get him back. The governor (Nicky Henderson) and Hannah Ryan, who rides him every day, have done fantastically well to get him ready for a run let alone have him in flying form.”

Buveur D’Air has not appeared at Haydock Park for more than four years, when making a winning debut over fences there in a novice chase in 2016. De Boinville revealed he and Buveur D’Air prepared for this Saturday with a schooling session and a spin on the gallops last week.

He said: “I schooled him over a few hurdles last week and did a piece of work on him and I was very happy. All the questions we have asked of him he has answered them well.

“Hannah Ryan rides him most of the time but from what I saw last week he felt in great shape. He remains very slick over his hurdles and you need to be like that in top class hurdle races where as we know his record speaks for itself.”

De Boinville could bid for further Grade Two success aboard Buveur D’Air’s stablemate Allart, who features among nine entries in the Altcar Novices’ Chase.

Having signed off last season finishing fifth at The Festival in the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, the Ronnie Bartlett-owned seven year old made a triumphant debut over fences in a Grade Two at Ascot just before Christmas.

De Boinville said:

“I’m not quite sure if Allart runs yet. I was certainly very impressed with his run at Ascot. It was a big ask to come straight into a Grade Two first time over fences. I think the form is fairly solid as Fiddlerontheroof hit the crossbar again at the weekend.

“Ascot takes a good bit of getting and it is a brave path to go first time let alone in a Grade Two. He warmed to the task well and finished the race off well.”