That not to be missed

Missed That will finally make his eagerly-awaited debut over fences at Thurles today and the Cheltenham Festival bumper winner…

Missed That will finally make his eagerly-awaited debut over fences at Thurles today and the Cheltenham Festival bumper winner is likely to be short odds to make a successful start to his new career.

The Willie Mullins-trained horse follows in the footsteps of his former stable companion Florida Pearl, who raced in the same Violet O'Leary colours, by graduating straight to fences from bumpers.

However, that lack of hurdles form has resulted in a frustrating wait as Missed That has been balloted out of a number of races before today.

He is also without his jockey, Ruby Walsh, but David Casey steps in for the mount on a horse who is already as low as 12 to 1 for the Arkle at Cheltenham.

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"He has been balloted out two or three times and I'm looking forward to seeing him over fences," Mullins said yesterday.

"We will see what happens before making big plans but if he wins we might try and win a big chase at Christmas."

Mullins added: "If he doesn't win well we can always concentrate on Beginners Chases for him to get more experience. I just want to get Thurles out of the way. We can go back to the drawing board or start dreaming after that."

Of those with chase form Django looks the biggest threat to Missed That, but it will be a major surprise if the Mullins horse doesn't come out on top.

Christy Roche has opted for the Glen Chase rather than Sunday's Drinmore for Far From Trouble and the novice can add to his course win over Homer Wells last time out.

Mossy Green won over fences here on his last start but reverts to hurdles this afternoon and looks the best option against the Hatton's Grace entry Ray Boy. Dillons Dilemma was a decent flat horse, with a good run behind the Irish Derby third Shalapour at Gowran in May. He is an interesting newcomer in the juvenile hurdle.

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor is the racing correspondent of The Irish Times. He also writes the Tipping Point column