Aintree on the cards for Home By The Lee after luckless Cheltenham Festival run

Home By The Lee is set to compete in the Liverpool Hurdle at Aintree after a luckless run at the Cheltenham Festival last week.

Despite impressive wins at the Lismullen Hurdle at Navan and the Savills Hurdle at Leopardstown, the 10-year-old horse trained by Joseph O'Brien had a premature end to his race at Prestbury Park due to an unfortunate incident involving another horse, Crambo.

Jockey J J Slevin was unseated when Home By The Lee was badly hampered by Crambo's fall at the fifth flight.

O'Brien expressed his disappointment as Bob Olinger, who had previously finished behind Home By The Lee in two races this season, emerged as the winner. However, he remains optimistic about the upcoming race at Aintree.

He said: "Obviously it was a pity the way things worked out as the horse he'd been beating all year came out and won the race, but that's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes and he seems fine, so you'll probably see him in Aintree."

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Another horse from O'Brien's stable, Puturhandstogether, is also likely to join Home By The Lee at Aintree. Puturhandstogether recently gave O'Brien his fifth Cheltenham Festival victory by winning the Fred Winter impressively.

The horse is now being prepared for a step up to Grade One level for the Boodles Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle on the opening day of the Grand National meeting. "You'll probably see him in Aintree as well I'd say," O'Brien added.

"We'll see how he is between now and then, but he got a good whack off the handicapper, so we might see him at Aintree."

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