Ballymore Champion Four Year Old Hurdle (Grade 1)

Off time: 17:00 | Winning time: 4m 6.9s

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Selected odds by:

Fil Dor⁴³

Age: 4| Weight: 11-0| J: D N Russell| T: G Elliott| OR: 146| D

4/1

Lightly-raced winner over hurdles. Three wins from 5 runs last season. Good 2½ lengths second of 12 to Vauban in Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham (16.8f, good to soft, 11/2) 43 days ago. Should be on the premises once more.

Form: 11122

Hms Seahorse⁴⁶

Age: 4| Weight: 11-0| J: B J Cooper| T: P Nolan| OR: 128| D

33/1

Lightly-raced winner over hurdles. Successful at Fairyhouse in February. 8/1, creditable fourth of 21 in juvenile hurdle at Cheltenham (16.4f, good) 46 days ago. Open to improvement.

Form: 3214

Il Etait Temps⁴³

Age: 4| Weight: 11-0| J: D E Mullins| T: W P Mullins

9/1

Useful hurdler. 8¾ lengths fifth of 12 to Vauban in Triumph Hurdle (12/1) at Cheltenham (16.8f, good to soft) 43 days ago, pulling hard. Hard to envisage him reversing the placings with his stablemate here.

Form: 5-235

Man O Work⁴⁸

Age: 4| Weight: 11-0| J: Cian Cullinan| T: P G Fahey| D

28/1

Lightly-raced winner over hurdles. Two wins from 4 runs last season. 15/8, career best when winning 12-runner juvenile hurdle at Limerick (16.2f, heavy) 48 days ago. This is much tougher.

Form: 71F1

Vauban^t⁴³

Age: 4| Weight: 11-0| J: Paul Townend| T: W P Mullins| OR: 152| D

4/11

Useful Flat winner. Promising type. Won 12-runner Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham (16.8f, good to soft, 6/4) 43 days ago by 2½ lengths from Fil Dor, readily. Very much the one to beat.

Form: 211

Innatendue^t¹²

Age: 4| Weight: 10-7| J: S D Torrens| T: J C McConnell

66/1

Fairly useful hurdler. 33/1, 2¼ lengths second of 7 to Iberique Du Seuil in Percy Maynard Juvenile Hurdle at Fairyhouse (16f, good to soft) 12 days ago. Looks out of her depth.

Form: 123122

Forecasts

Vauban (4/11), Fil Dor (4/1), Il Etait Temps (9/1), Man O Work (28/1), Hms Seahorse (33/1), Innatendue (66/1)

Willie Mullins has saddled six of the last eight winners of this and in VAUBAN he fields a standout contender for this year's renewal. The ex-French gelding did the job well in the Triumph Hurdle at last month's Cheltenham Festival and the best is surely yet to come. Fil Dor chased the selection home at Cheltenham, just as he did at Leopardstown in February, and looks set for the runners-up spot once more. HMS Seahorse is most interesting of the remaining quartet.