January 26 – Naas – Answer To Kayf – 68

Terence O’Brien’s gelding looked the most intriguing contender heading into this handicap chase, having caught the eye on his first two starts against better opposition over fences and so it proved, as he ran out a very comfortable winner. Always travelling best throughout, the eight-year-old powered clear in the closing stages to register a wide-margin victory and his time figure back up the visual aspect of his performance. Moreover, his final circuit time was 1.7 seconds faster than Dancing City, who landed the Grade 3 chase on the same card, and he looks booked to head to Cheltenham now to contest the new novices handicap, for which he should turn out to be one of the main players (fourth in the Martin Pipe last year).

January 27 – Punchestown – Karbau – 67

Seemingly, a novice hurdle lacking any great strength in depth beforehand, however, it was won in quite impressive style by a horse who left behind a below par effort on his hurdling debut previously. Too keen for his own good that day, Willie Mullins’ inmate was a little more amenable to restraint at the Kildare venue and, as a result, he finished off his race with plenty more purpose. Strong in the final half a mile, he ended up posting a pretty useful overall speed figure and on the evidence of the data to hand, he is not a million miles off some of the better two mile novices around. Whether he ends up at Cheltenham only time will tell but if not, he is more that capable of mixing it among graded company at one of the spring festivals.

February 1 – Leopardstown – Final Demand – 71

The eagerly awaited DRF kicked off with a competitive novice hurdle and it produced a winner who emerged a clear favourite for the Turner’s at the Cheltenham festival. Willie Mullins’ inmate was always well placed, tracking the front runners along the inside rail, and when asked to assume command off the home bend, he soon pulled clear of his toiling rivals. Although his speed figure wasn’t completely off the scale, it was fairly obvious he was capable of running quicker if required and that is a daunting prospect for those willing to take him on in a month’s time. At this stage, he rates a worthy favourite for the 2m4f event on day two.

February 1 – Leopardstown – Majborough – 75

A strong-looking renewal of the Irish Arkle but it was dominated throughout by a young novice of huge potential. Impressive on his debut, there was a good deal of anticipation to see whether Willie Mullins’ inmate could prove himself at the highest level and not only did he answer that question in the affirmative, he looks a genuine threat to Sir Gino come the festival in March. Despite running down several of his fences, which caused him to make the odd mistake, he was really good when meeting the rest in his stride and there is a good chance he won’t do that at Cheltenham with a running rail up the inside to keep him more straight and true. Mature enough to land the Triumph Hurdle on just his second career start, the son of Martinborough has the ability to match his temperament and there is no doubt he remains a serious talent – one which we can hopefully savour for years to come.

February 1 – Sandown – Handstands – 75

A Grade 1 where most of the pre-race market attentions focused on Jango Baie but in the end, it was Ben Pauling’s inmate who had the final say. Having already proven himself over further and around the track, his jockey was at pains to make the race a reasonable test and even though he looked he was going to be gobbled up by his main market rival on the run down to the last, he found extra reserves of stamina to record a gusty success. Although there is a temptation to go to Cheltenham on the back of a Grade 1 win, connections will probably do the sensible thing and sit on their hands and wait until either Aintree or Punchestown, while it wouldn’t be out of the question he was joined by his old rival in the Manifesto at the former venue.

February 2 – Leopardstown – Kopek Des Bordes – 73

A division that was lacking personality heading into this Grade 1 was turned on its head with a performance as good on the clock as it appeared visually. Willie Mullins’ gelding did remarkable well to win in the manner he did on hurdling debut considering how badly he jumped, which suggested he had a very big engine, and he backed up that view on his return to the Dublin venue. Hurdling much cleaner this time around, the five-year-old seemed to be travelling at a different speed to the rest throughout and he only had to nudged out to pull clear in impressive fashion. Now as short as 5-4 for the Supreme, it’s hard to argue with that price given the lack of competition (apart from Romeo Coolio) and it now all boils down to whether he can cope with the preliminaries (got a bit edgy in the parade Sunday) once over the Irish Sea.

February 2 – Leopardstown – Bambino Flyer – 58

The bumper for the geldings on the first day of the meeting didn’t produce any fireworks but based on the data, the one for the mares’ on day two turned out to be a different story. Churchfield Sunset ensured the gallop was sound from the outset and when she fell away turning for home, it looked a wide open contest between several going equally as well as each other. However, within the space of a furlong, there was only two who counted and it was Willie Mullins’ supposed second string who ultimately came out on top. The way she powered her way to the line left an indelible mark and based on this performance, she seemed to really thrive in this sort of strong run environment. With that in mind, the daughter of Jukebox Jury rates of the leading contenders for the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham festival and in a season where there doesn’t appear to be too many standout performers, she could easily turn out to be the clear pick of the bunch.