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Lucy Wadham could run Sunshine Corner at Cheltenham Festival

Sunshine Corner (centre)
Image: Sunshine Corner (centre) en route to victory at Plumpton

Sunshine Corner could yet earn a trip to the Cheltenham Festival after determinedly ploughing through the mud to justify cramped odds at Plumpton on Monday.

An impressive winner of a Bangor bumper on debut before struggling in stronger heats at Aintree and Cheltenham, the five-year-old made a successful start to her hurdling career at Lingfield before filling the runner-up spot in a Listed event at Haydock.

Dropped in class for the Download The Timeform App Novices' Hurdle, Lucy Wadham's mare was a prohibitively priced 30-100 favourite and while Leighton Aspell had to get fairly serious in the straight, his mount was ultimately well on top as she passed the post seven lengths clear of Jajamcool.

Sunshine Corner will now attempt to raise her game in the Grade Two Jane Seymour Mares' Novices' Hurdle at Sandown before a potential tilt at the inaugural running of the Trull House Stud Mares' Novices' Hurdle at the Festival in March.

"I'm very happy with that. It was a workmanlike performance, but it is very heavy ground and she jumped well and stuck to her task well," said Wadham.

"We'll probably look at the race at Sandown on February 19 and she'll have an entry in the mares' novice at Cheltenham, but we'll just take it step by step.

"She does like to get her toe in, but she doesn't want it as heavy as that.

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"I think good to soft ground would be perfect."

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