Festival hero set for Wetherby
Neil Mulholland’s Cheltenham Festival hero was in the process of running a huge race in the Aintree spectacular until coming to grief four fences from the finish.
A return to Merseyside next April is already on the trainer’s mind and he could stick to the smaller obstacles until then if he performs well on his return to action.
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Hide AdMulholland said: “He’s in good form and we’re probably going for the three-mile hurdle at Wetherby.
“He actually ran very well in the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham in January. He was right there until the last and we were quite happy with that as he was getting ready for the Festival.
“I think the Wetherby race will be a good starting point and we’ll see where he is after that.
“If he runs well we might keep him over hurdles until the National, or we could look at running in one of the bigger handicap chases. We’ll wait and see.”
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Hide AdThe Somerset handler also had news of his other stable star, The Young Master.
The six-year-old enjoyed a fantastic campaign last season, winning three of his five starts over fences, but disappointed on his final appearance in Cheltenham’s RSA Chase.
He could also be Wetherby-bound for the Charlie Hall Chase, although plans remain fluid.
“The Young Master is in very good form and has come back in a bit stronger than he was last season,” said Mulholland.
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Hide Ad“We haven’t really decided where we’ll go with him yet. He’ll have several entries and we’ll just tip-toe our way with him.
“We could look at something like the Charlie Hall, but we’ll see.
“He didn’t run his race at Cheltenham. I think it was just the end of a long season, he got a bit stirred up beforehand and the occasion probably just got to him.
“We know he’s better than that.”