Impressive Bellshill set for Navan feature

Punchestown bumper champion Bellshill is in contention to continue his progress through the jumping ranks by lining up in Sunday's Grade Two feature at Navan.

Bellshill landed the Grade One Champion Bumper at the Punchestown festival in impressive style last Spring and may renew rivalry with the runner up that day, Disko, in this weekend's Navan Novice Hurdle.

The pair are among a dozen entries for the two and a half mile event which was won a year ago by No More Heroes. His trainer Gordon Elliott has three options this time including the highly-rated Tycoon Prince.

Bellshill made a winning debut over flights at Cork last month and is currently a 12-1 second favourite for Cheltenham’s Neptune Novice Hurdle behind his stable companion Yorkhill.

Navan’s fixture will also include the Grade Three Klairon Davis Novice Chase which was part of the card lost to the weather last Saturday.

The Cork card washed out last weekend is also scheduled to be run off this Sunday and among the eight entries remaining in the €47,500 Kerry Group Hilly Way Chase are the last three winners of the Grade Two highlight.

Willie Mullins has left in both Felix Yonger (2014) and Twinlight (2013) while Henry De Bromhead still has the option of running his 2012 Hilly Way hero Days Hotel.

Mullins's other entry is Mozoltov, absent from the racecourse since April of 2014, but also among the possibles for the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday.

Valuable handicap

No Irish-trained horse has won the valuable handicap since Sir Oj in 2005 and it is also a decade since Harchibald landed the Grade Two International Hurdle at Cheltenham, a race in which Mullins has left in Sempre Medici.

The Grade Three Cork Novice Chase for mares on Sunday could see Mick Winters’ prolific winner Perfect Woman return to the bigger obstacles.

Perfect Woman has won her last four starts, three over hurdles, but also a chase in Sligo last September. Her opposition is likely to include the 135-rated Miss Dinamic.

Ground conditions at both Cork and Navan are currently described as “heavy.”

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