Racing: Credo to delay Pipe revival: Weight may tell as the Champion Hurdler seeks to restore esteem

THIS time last year Granville Again was an extremely promising hurdler who headed the long-range betting for the Champion Hurdle. By one of those mysterious twists that gives racing its allure and keeps bookmakers off Family Income Support, Granville Again won the Champion but is now regarded with caution rather than awe. As he makes his seasonal return at Ascot today, Granville Again stands third in line in Cheltenham betting at 6-1 with Ladbrokes, behind Vintage Crop at 9-2 and Montelado at 5-1.

The plummet in popularity is hardly surprising considering that Granville Again started favourite at scorchingly short odds for four races last year; the four he lost. Only in the Champion was he allowed to start at the respectable price of 13-2.

Martin Pipe, Granville Again's trainer, has never really explained the nature of the 'niggling problems' that blighted the gelding last season, but seemed to have cured them during a 2 1/2 -month absence from the track leading up to the Cheltenham triumph.

Worryingly, though, the horse was back in the shadows at Aintree, eclipsed by the speed of his brother Morley Street. That defeat was inflicted on the fast ground that Granville Again seems to prefer, but over a 2 1/2 -mile trip that may be beyond his best and over which he is asked to perform today.

Success for Granville Again might change the public's perception of the horse and also of Pipe. The winners have been spluttering rather than gushing out of his Nicholashayne stable this autumn and the pounds 77,000 his 24 victors have collected leaves him eight places below his customary perch in the trainers' table. A disappointing start, by Pipe's standards only, could be transformed as some of his other quality horses - Carvill's Hill, Rolling Ball and Valfinet - return in the next fortnight and Granville Again could start the sequence.

First, though, there are a couple of formidable opponents in the way: Sweet Duke and King Credo. The former emphasised his liking for this track when giving Peter Scudamore his final success - Richard Dunwoody has been advised of Granville Again's quirks by Pipe's former stable jockey before taking over for the first time today - but may lack the speed to win over a trip that is short of his best. No such problems for King Credo (2.40) though. He finished fourth in the Champion, and the 10lb he receives today should be enough for him to reverse placings and to justify delaying the switch to novice chasing his trainer had planned for him.

Two more for whom bigger obstacles are on the way can dominate the closing handicap hurdle. FAR TOO LOUD (nap 3.40) can overcome Bas De Laine and win for the second time this week.