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Hurricane Fly to Lead Mullins Charge for Punchestown Honours
18/04/11

Champion trainer Willie Mullins has an abundance of options going into the Punchestown Festival next month (Tuesday, May 3 to Saturday, May 7) when Cheltenham hero Hurricane Fly will seek to repeat last year’s success in the Grade 1 Rabobank Champion Hurdle on Friday, May 6.

Hurricane Fly
© Grossick Racing Photography

Hurricane Fly

Hurricane Fly is among 16 exciting entries for the 160,000 euros Rabobank Champion Hurdle over two miles, one of seven races at the Festival for which entries are revealed today, Monday April 18.

Mullins’ stable star has already annexed the Grade 1 BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle and the Grade 1 Stan James Champion Hurdle this year and is bidding for his third Punchestown Festival win in as many years having landed the Grade 1 Evening Herald Champion Novice Hurdle in 2009.

Mullins revealed: “I am pleased with Hurricane Fly at the moment and the plan is to go to the Rabobank Champion Hurdle.

“We have had ups and downs with him the past couple of years but this year everything has gone according to plan and we are happy that at Cheltenham he was able to show what we always hoped he might do. We were very pleased with that and delighted with how he has come out of Cheltenham.”

The entries for the Rabobank Champion Hurdle also reveal the prospect of a mouthwatering clash with the Nicky Henderson-trained Binocular, winner of the 2010 Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, as well as the Philip Hobbs-trained Menorah, fifth behind Hurricane Fly at Cheltenham in March.

Hobbs commented: “Menorah was disappointing in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and there was no real reason for it. He is in good form now, he was a little bit flat for a week or two but he seems fine now so we will go straight to the Rabobank Champion Hurdle.”

The Philip Fenton-trained multiple Grade 1 winner Dunguib was eighth in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, while the Colm Murphy-trained mare Voler La Vedette missed that event in March and was last seen winning the Grade 2 Ladbrokes.com Boyne Hurdle at Navan in February.

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