LEOPARDSTOWN REPORT: THE ALL-CONQUERING Willie Mullins reached 100 winners for this current Irish National Hunt season when sharing a sparkling three-timer with Ruby Walsh at Leopardstown yesterday.
Ebaziyan earned a ticket to the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in eight days time by kicking off the treble with an odds-on victory in the conditions hurdle and Mullins is hoping his tremendous run of form can continue to the festival. “It’s only the second time we’ve reached the hundred. We made it last year as well when we had tremendous quantity.
“The difference this season is we have great quality as well. Hopefully we can keep producing that,” he said. “We have had a great run and as well as the horses we have a great batch of jockeys too,” said the champion trainer.
Ebaziyan was a Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner in 2007 and Mullins said after the grey’s eight-length victory: “I’m not sure he jumps well enough to compete in the Champion.
“But we know he likes the track and he’ll take his chance.”
Odds of 50 to 1 are available for Ebaziyan next week, but both the handicap hurdle winner Serpentaria and Deutschland, who broke his duck over fences in the novice chase, will take the Fairyhouse-Punchestown route instead.
Dermot Weld has three possible runners in the Cheltenham’s Champion Bumper and could run two of them after Universal Truth landed yesterday’s finale. “This horse will be better on even better ground. We also have Rite Of Passage and Robbie McNamara will tell you that Lead The Parade is the best of them,” Weld said. “If the ground is good at Cheltenham we could run two as it’s a race where you need luck,” he said.
Shirley Casper ran third in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham three year ago and could return to the festival for the David Nicholson Mares Hurdle after breaking her duck over jumps.
The Dessie Hughes-trained horse has proved expensive to follow over flights considering she was also a Grade Two bumper winner, but she made no mistake in yesterday’s maiden hurdle. “The ground made a huge difference. She has been getting stuck in the mud and will be better at two and a half miles,” said Hughes.
Paul Carberry plans to return to action later this week after injuring his knee on Saturday, but he missed out on Island Life’s victory in the Mick Holly Handicap Chase as the 16 to 1 shot beat off Fantoche by a neck. Ross Geraghty deputised and beat his brother Barry, a result which delighted Noel Meade. “He’s only had a few rides for me but he has been lucky. He won the Irish National [on The Bunny Boiler in 2002]. The horse lost his form completely and was nearly sold,” Meade said. “He will win races when he’s right. But when he’s not he’s no horse at all.”
