Harry camp unfazed by Buck's fizz
Monday, 28 December 2009 18:40Owner Paul Duffy is excited by the mouthwatering prospect of Diamond Harry taking on champion stayer Big Buck's in the rescheduled Racing UK On Virgin 536 Long Walk Hurdle at Newbury on Tuesday.
The six-year-old, who runs under the banner of Duffy's Diamond Partnership, is seen as the main threat to last season's Ladbrokes World Hurdle hero for the staying crown this winter.
The Nick Williams-trained gelding made an impressive reappearance at Haydock a month ago when he gave 15lb and a two-and-a-half-length beating to the well-backed Burton Port.
That was his seventh win in eight starts, with his only defeat coming when he was third to Mikael D'Haguenet in the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
'We were toying with the idea of going chasing, but we decided to go for that race at Haydock and, bearing in mind how well he won, we thought we might as well keep him to that game,' said Duffy, whose horse is unbeaten in three starts at Newbury.
'You shouldn't be afraid of one horse, should you?
'I saw Andy Stewart (owner of Big Buck's) at the racehorse owners' dinner and we had a chat there. We are both looking forward to it and may the best man win.
'I just hope it won't be an anti-climax.'
Williams added: 'We slightly targeted the high-value races in his early career and even recently we've gone for the bigger pots.
'He didn't really surprise me that day at Haydock as his handicap mark had been as high as 155 after he ran in the Ballymore and they dropped him to 149, so he was entitled to run well.'
