Connections are happy with Irving and are hopeful that he will bounce back to form in his season bow at Wincanton.
The seven-year-old was a leading novice hurdler in 2013 but fluffed his lines when going off joint-favourite in the 2014 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
The son of Singspiel suffered a heavy fall in last year’s Elite Hurdle but then hit back to take the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle.
A second-place finish at Wincanton on February 14 this year was sandwiched in between two disappointing starts when he was pulled up.
But Dan Downie, racing manager for the owners Axom, feels they are now starting to get to grips with Paul Nicholls‘ temperamental gelding.
“I think we’ve learnt a bit about him. He needs to have soft ground and I think small fields probably suit him best,” he said.
“He had a few aches and pains after he ran at Ayr at the end of last season, but Paul is very happy with him at the moment.
“Hopefully he’ll start off at Wincanton, but I think the ground is quite important.”
