Faugheen is expected to improve for his first run of the season when he defends his Christmas Hurdle crown at Kempton.
Willie Mullins‘ hurdler lost his unbeaten record on his seasonal reappearance after being beaten half-a-length by stablemate Nichols Canyon in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown last month.
His next race will be at Kempton on Boxing Day when he could come up against the likes of The New One and My Tent Or Yours, who won the Christmas Hurdle two years ago but has been off the track since April 2014.
Joe Chambers, racing manager to Faugheen’s owner Rich Ricci, told Racing UK: “Faugheen will come back to try and defend his Christmas Hurdle crown.
“It’s shaping up to be a good race. The New One is going, it’s looking like possibly My Tent Or Yours is going and a couple of others.”
Chambers is also optimistic that last season’s Champion Hurdle winner will improve for his first run of the season.
He said: “He’s been fine, he just got beat on the day, it’s as simple as that.
“It was his first run of the season and he was pretty big. There were a lot of reports about how big he looked compared to previous years, but he’s been fine since.
“He will improve for the run. He has won round the track before, which is in his favour, and we’re looking forward to coming back. Hopefully we’ll see the real Faugheen on the 26th.”
