Racing: For Jessica Harrington Thursday was just one of those days.After months of thought, worry and anticipation, her Smurfit Champion Hurdle hope Spirit Leader decided to pick that time to not feel so good in herself.

She could hardly have picked worse. Five days before Cheltenham is not the time to start losing your sparkle.

For those opportunists who had backed Spirit Leader down to as low as 8 to 1 for the festival, there will be disappointment.

But the crushing disappointment for Harrington was immeasurable. A season's worth of work and care suddenly counted for nothing. And it's then that she gets a phone call from your correspondent wanting to know how she copes with pre-festival pressure.

In life, timing is everything.

So, all you really need to know about Harrington's ability to cope with pre-festival pressure can be gleaned from the fact she didn't immediately dismiss this correspondent, and pretty sharpish too.

Mind you she has had plenty of practice dealing with a nosey media. Training something of a prized national asset means having to cater for a hack pack that turns pretty ravenous at this time of year.

Even among the elite that make it to Cheltenham in the first place, Moscow Flyer holds a singular position. Two years ago he indicated championship potential by winning the Arkle. Last year he fulfilled it with a style not seen in a long time in the Queen Mother Chase.

Both times an Irish banker and both times a result. It's now starting to get to the stage where his consistent brilliance can be taken for granted. Except by his trainer of course. For her, every second between now and Wednesday afternoon has the potential to crush a year's work, hence the pressure.

"It is tense, you can't get away from that. One does get a bit edgy, that's only natural. If you're not tense, you're not human," she says.

"It's the old chicken-and-egg situation. You long to have the problem in the first place and you get all nervous and edgy when you do get it!"

This year the problem is compounded by a worthy rival to Moscow Flyer's crown in Azertyuiop. The result is that more than a hint of Anglo-Irish rivalry will colour this year's Champion Chase.

Both sides believe their horse can win but Moscow Flyer has the score in the book from the one time they have met in last November's Tingle Creek at Sandown.

"I think that might have been Moscow Flyer's best performance to date. He won comprehensively even though Barry (Geraghty) says he is better going left-handed.

"I know everybody said Azertyuiop wasn't fit at Sandown but our horse couldn't have done it any better than he did and he looked like there was a bit left in the tank too," Harrington says.

The English horse looks too much like the real deal, however, for anyone in the Moscow Flyer camp to underestimate the task ahead. There still remains, though, complete confidence in the Irish camp.

"Azertyuiop is clearly very good and has done nothing wrong since. He had one very hard race and proved he came out of it very well when he won at Newbury.

"But I would be confident my horse is better this year than he was 12 months ago," Harrington concludes.

If that proves to be correct, and Moscow Flyer can call on the reserves that to date have remained untapped, then Azertyuiop will more than likely once again have to settle for a rear view of the Irish banker.