Three Horses To Follow Over The Jumps This Weekend

The first horse making a return to the racecourse for the new jumps season is 2020 Champion Hurdle favourite Klassical Dream.

This five year old came to life for trainer Willie Mullins last season being unbeaten on all four of his starts landing three consecutive Grade One contests in the process.

The gelding started his season off at Leopardstown in a 20 runner maiden where he cruised to victory and from that day stamped his authority on the two mile novice hurdling division.

He landed three consecutive Grade one contests throughout his season starting in February at Leopardstown at their Dublin racing festival.

He then headed to the Cheltenham festival and hacked up in the Supreme Novices Hurdle enjoying the soft conditions and to round off his season he took the Champion Novice Hurdle at the Punchestown festival.

He makes his return in the Grade One Morgiana Hurdle at the same track as his last win and the contest looks a highly competitive affair dominated by his trainer Willie Mullins.

The second horse to follow this weekend is making his second start of the season and Getaway Trump looks a huge improver for his seasonal outing.

He finished third of four runners in the two mile novices chase which was won by last seasons hurdling star Al Dancer but at one stage Nicholls' gelding was travelling the best coming up to the final fences but found nothing when coming up the hill.

The 11 time champion trainer has said that this horse will come on massively for the run and after jumping to good standard for most of the race he showed promising signs.

At the back end of last season he showed his clear ability over hurdles and now being fitter and stronger he should go close in Grade One contests this season.

He is entered in the Grade Two Arkle Trial at Cheltenham on Sunday and it should see him go better than his first outing, taking on rivals he needs to reverse the form with.

The final stand out horse to follow for the weekend could also run on Sunday and it is the JLT winner from the Cheltenham festival Defi Du Seuil.

The Phillip Hobbs trained gelding has had an illustrious career to date being unbeaten in his first seven races over hurdles which saw him land the Grade One Triumph Hurdle at the festival and then the Grade One Juvenile Hurdle at the Grand National meeting.

He lost his way for a little bit after that and did not finish the back end of the 2017/18 season to a good standard putting in some poor performances.

Back for a new season at the and of 2018 and he was sent over fences for the first time needing the run and looking like he could not shake the form of the previous season.

However, with the Hobbs yard back in form he also found his form winning a classy Novices Chase at Exeter beating the subsequent RSA Chase winner.

He raced well since that run with good places in tough races but when it came to the festival he pulled out his best performance to land the Grade One JLT Novices Chase.

Now in his second season over fences he should be even better and great things are planned for this six year old who still holds bundles of ability.