Strong Leader, a major disappointment in the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot before Christmas, will bid to repair his reputation in the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham later this month having undergone a wind operation.
A Grade One winner of the Liverpool Hurdle for trainer Olly Murphy last spring, the eight-year-old made a winning return at Newbury in the Grade Two Long Distance Hurdle before being sent off favourite for Ascot’s pre-Christmas staying hurdling feature.
