Relevant statement by Neil Mulholland in RP
Explaining the early start, Mulholland said: "He's not a winter horse and he won't be running in December or January. We ran him once in January last season to see if he handled the soft ground and he didn't. His last two wins were on good ground and that's what it will be here."
Shantou Village recorded wide-margin victories at Carlisle and Cheltenham last autumn and, following that defeat to Yanworth in January, Mulholland stepped the six-year-old up to three miles in the Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle at the festival.
Sent off the 7-2 favourite, Shantou Village was pulled up by Richard Johnson after having been struck into.
"He was alright after pretty quickly and we were just very lucky it wasn't something more serious," said Mulholland. "He won his only point-to-point so we're very happy with his jumping."