An ex 82 rated flat horse who was previously trained by Clive Cox before joining Henry De Bromhead last year and made his debut for the stable in December over course and distance.
He came second behind a rival who he faces again here in Tekao and can reverse form if coming on from that first run over hurdles.
Only won once on the flat so better is expected from him over the smaller obstacles, but this looks a tough ask as no real form has come from that second-placed finish 39 days ago.
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17/03/23 | CHL | 17 | Sft | 11-2 | 5 |
| 04/02/23 | LEO | 16 | Y | 11-0 | 4 |
| 27/12/22 | LEO | 16 | Sft | 11-0 | 2 |
| 05/10/22 | NOT | 10 | Sft | 9-7 | 2 |
| 16/09/22 | NBY | 10 | Gd | 9-5 | 2 |
In a race that is dominated by runners from the Willie Mullins yard, Gala Marceau in the famous colours of Honeysuckle could be the one to come home in second to stablemate Lossiemouth.
This 4-year-old filly was a French recruit as she showed decent form overseas in France before moving over to the Mullins camp.
She came 7 1/2 lengths second to stablemate and current Triumph favourite Lossiemouth over course and distance last time out but will find it very tough to reverse any form with her as she looks like a superstar that will continue to thrive.
Darraby will go off as the outsider and a triple-digit price so he can be totally dismissed in a contest such as this one. This will be his first start over hurdles and it looks like an impossible task that he has on his hands here.
Only four years of age so has plenty of time to improve, but there is a slim chance of that happening this weekend.
Another French recruit for the Willie Mullins team, but this filly has not been seen on a racecourse for over 300 days since her debut in France at Auteuil.
Trainer seems to throw horses straight into graded company a lot more nowadays to see if there is talent there to work with moving forwards.
Cinsa is one of the outsiders here so not a lot to go off from her previous form and will be her first start on Irish soil so not much is expected.
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20/05/23 | WEX | 20 | Y | 10-13 | 1 |
| 29/04/23 | PUN | 16 | Gd/Y | 10-7 | 8 |
| 17/03/23 | CHL | 17 | Sft | 10-9 | 7 |
| 04/02/23 | LEO | 16 | Y | 10-7 | 6 |
| 03/04/22 | AUT | 15 | VSft | 10-8 | 4 |
Lossiemouth has shown so much ability so far in her career and is one horse I really rate highly.
The grey filly is unbeaten and won both starts under Willie Mullins by a combined distance of 11 1/2 lengths.
She looks super impressive and will take the beating in this Grade 1 contest and in future events too. One of those will be the 2023 Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival where she finds herself the current favourite for the race.
Full of speed and will be too good for the rest of this field and should she claim her first Grade 1 success here, I do not think that will be her last as we then will look forward to the festival.
Gust Of Wind won his sole start in France over 2m2f as he put together a very nice round of jumping when winning at Auteuil in September.
The Willie Mullins stable excels with these types and he may be one to be interested in at a bigger price if you are looking for some each-way value to go against the favourite.
One of six in this for Mullins and it will be interesting to see how he fares on his debut for connections.
| Date | Course | Distance | Type | Weight | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/04/23 | FAI | 16 | Y/Sft | 11-0 | 3 |
| 17/03/23 | CHL | 17 | Sft | 11-2 | 4 |
| 04/02/23 | LEO | 16 | Y | 11-0 | 5 |
| 29/09/22 | AUT | 18 | VSft | 10-10 | 1 |
Although Willie Mullins has quite a few runners in this year's renewal of the Grade One Spring Juvenile Hurdle, there are a couple at bigger prices which means they may not be fancied to do as well as some others.
Jourdefete is in the same colours as Lossiemouth and this 4-year-old grey was a massive outsider on his debut for this yard and it looks to be the case again here.
Finds himself in much deeper waters this time around and he looks set to struggle once more.
The last of the Willie Mullins runners is Tekao who got turned over as an odds-on favourite on hurdling bow but turned that form around next time out winning over course and distance 39 days ago.
He got the better of a rival who he faces again here in Ascending and should manage to beat him once more as they meet again for the second time.
Does not look the type for win purposes stepped up to Grade 1 company, but remains a slight unknown as he may have the potential to show more which would put him in good stead for this year's Triumph Hurdle.
