Returning from heavily contrasting absences, Cyborgo and Mysilv serve up a Stayers' Hurdle to savour
To whet the appetite for Cheltenham, we're counting down the greatest duels in festival history

Greatest Festival Duels - No. 9
Cyborgo v Mysilv, 1996 Stayers' Hurdle
The two protagonists in the 1996 Stayers’ Hurdle could hardly have had more contrasting preparations. One hadn’t been seen in public since the same race a year earlier; the other had run just two days earlier.
Cyborgo had run a blinder in defeat behind Dorans Pride in the 1995 running of the marathon test, but he wasn't the soundest of horses, as his later career would demonstrate, and such a lengthy absence could hardly have counted as a positive as he sought to go one better.
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Published on inGreatest Festival Duels
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- If the half-length verdict sounds conclusive, it didn't seem that way to an enthralled grandstand - this was vintage Cheltenham
- The lovable rogue and the brave warrior who left Cheltenham buzzing after an epic Gold Cup
- Neither horse wilted, neither jockey blinked - how the 2004 Supreme unfolded in favour of the Irish banker
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