Richard Hobson tempted to take on Defi Du Seuil with classy filly Dame Rose

Richard Hobson has not ruled out talented filly Dame Rose taking her chance against Triumph Hurdle hero Defi Du Seuil at Cheltenham on Saturday week.

The Stow-On-The-World trainer has earmarked the Masterson Holdings Hurdle - which is the intended starting point for Philip Hobbs' triple Grade One winner - as one of two potential targets.

After signing off last season with victory in a Grade Two bumper at Aintree, the Carl Hinchy-owned four-year-old made her debut over hurdles a winning one at Hexham.

Hobson said: "I just wanted to go away and have nothing too complex first time out and that is why she went to Hexham.

"They did quite like Nicky Richards' horse (Tetraites Style), but we had no doubt she is classy and was good enough to do that, especially with the way she had been jumping at home. She has been very professional.

"The rain came, which was not ideal, but she got the job done. She is a proper National Hunt-bred horse and is now much stronger.

"There is a race at Newbury at their first meeting, but she might get an entry in that four-year-old hurdle at Cheltenham, as there are not usually many runners in that race and I'd like to see them take her on with her low weight.

"She has got a fair engine and her heart and lungs are fabulous, which gives her a great recovery rate."