Racing: Lavelle rates Defense the best form of attack for Champion challenge

There's jumping in at the deep end, and there's plunging into the Marianas Trench. This afternoon Emma Lavelle will saddle her first runner at Cheltenham (at any meeting at the holy of holies, never mind the Festival), but there will be no quiet testing-the-water introduction down at the base of one of the handicaps. Instead, she sends out Self Defense in the Champion Hurdle.

Like the favourite, Rhinestone Cowboy, the six-year-old is a novice, but he is also a maiden over hurdles (no such beast has yet taken the crown) languishing among the 150-1 shots. His trainer, though, is not in the slightest bit daunted. "He was also in the novices' hurdle, but that is likely to be a massive field and I think he's likely to perform better against smaller numbers," she reasoned, "and the Champion Hurdle seems to be an open race this year".

Self Defense, bred by Khalid Abdullah, has raced only four times over hurdles but was a useful middle-distance Flat performer in France. Lavelle picked him out for 22,000 guineas at the Newmarket sales in October and his form since has been progressive, notably when he gave Rooster Booster a fright at Sandown last month, running the Champion Hurdle third favourite to half a length.

"He's straightforward and unflappable, a pleasure to train," she said. "He is not a scintillating work horse, only does as much as he has to, but you can't really fault his attitude. He doesn't waste energy, but when he's asked, he'll give willingly. He's honest and well-balanced, and I'd like to see him competitive turning for home."

Lavelle, in her fifth season with a licence, started with six horses. She now has 35 in her yard at Hatherden, a few miles north of Andover and for a string that size to produce two Cheltenham contenders – she runs another novice, Palua, in the Stayers' Hurdle on Thursday – is no mean feat. This season has been the most prolific so far for Lavelle, 29. A double at Sandown on Saturday brought her total to 15 winners and more than £130,000 prize-money, at a strike-rate of just about one in five.

Lavelle has no real background in horses but her father, a Harley Street surgeon, did instil a love of racing in her. "He had a horse called Jade And Diamond with Toby Balding, who won quite a few races and was placed in some good ones, like the Schweppes as was," she said. "We used to go down to Toby's to see him, and got to go to the good tracks, and I loved it. As a result I became very blinkered about what I wanted to do when I grew up."

Lavelle worked for Balding, in various roles, and for the National Trainers' Federation before embarking on her training career. "It has taken time to build up the numbers and quality," she said, "but it is very nice that the effort is being rewarded. The team seems in good form – looking at their coats, they are really coming to themselves – I couldn't be happier with the Cheltenham horses. I am really excited about the Champion Hurdle. I think he is an outsider with a real chance, but he is still an outsider, so there is no real pressure. I've been to the Festival before, but not like this. This time I'm on the inside looking out and I'll enjoy every minute."

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