Mullins hoping to run top novices

WILLIE MULLINS will be anxiously awaiting the result of this morning’s inspection at Leopardstown, with his two star novices, Hurricane Fly and Cousin Vinny, both entered for Sunday’s Deloitte Novice Hurdle.

Both horses are among the leading contenders for the Supreme at Cheltenham and earlier this week Mullins didn’t completely rule out the possibility of them clashing on Sunday. However, the current weather has thrown plans into confusion for many trainers hoping to run at the weekend.

“If the meeting on Sunday was to be off, Hurricane Fly doesn’t need another run before Cheltenham,” the champion trainer said yesterday. “Vinny has had three races and he would certainly recover from a run quicker than Hurricane Fly, so we would have to see what the ground conditions will be like the following week if they rearrange the card,” he added.

Another Mullins hoping that racing goes ahead on Sunday is Mags Mullins – she may run her former Grade One winner Travino, who returned from over two years off through injury with a good run at Leopardstown recently in the Dr PJ Moriarty Novice Chase.