'Job done' as Yanworth battles to Kingwell Hurdle victory

Alan King described it as "job done" after leading Champion Hurdle contender Yanworth took his unbeaten run to three this season with a hard-fought success in the Betway Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton.The seven-year-old only got on top on the run-in, as he got the better of Ch'Tibello by a length.Last year's winner Rayvin Black made the running until Melodic Rendezvous took over two out. He was tackled on all sides, as the King duo of Yanworth and Sceau Royal and Dan Skelton's Ch'Tibello made their bids.There was little between the trio at the final flight, but Yanworth's stamina came into play on the dash to the line as he asserted for Barry Geraghty to land the spoils in first-time cheekpieces.Bookmakers were not impressed, however, with Yanworth pushed out to 9-2 from 7-2 for Cheltenham by Paddy Power.Barbury Castle trainer King told his website: "It has been well documented that Yanworth went into this Cheltenham prep with an interrupted preparation, having been forced to miss Sandown because of a pulled muscle, and he was probably only 90 per cent ready on a track which would have been plenty sharp enough for him."In the circumstances, I would say it was 'job done', and he'll come on for that before March 14 when Cheltenham and a faster gallop will suit him so much better."The first-time cheekpieces sharpened up Yanworth's jumping, and for me he is still very much in the Champion Hurdle mix, though I will need to talk to Sceau Royal's owners before deciding whether he goes to Cheltenham. He travelled better than anything, but I was disappointed that he didn't finish in the first two."Geraghty, meanwhile, felt the winner had shown the right sort of attitude in the finish.The rider, who won the Champion Hurdle on Punjabi in 2009 and Jezki in 2014, said: "He battled well and he will need to battle at Cheltenham as well."