RACING:THE LATEST small step So Young takes before returning to Grade One company takes place at Navan tomorrow where the talented six-year-old tackles just three opponents. Willie Mullins pitches So Young against a trio of decent animals including the impressive Limerick winner Trifolium in the conditions hurdle.
So Young is as low as 20 to 1 for the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle but is just 12 to 1 in some lists for the extended three-mile-plus World Hurdle at the festival. He also holds an entry in the upcoming Irish Champion Hurdle.
Tomorrow’s two-mile task is at the bottom range of the distance scale and Trifolium alone is weighted to make sure that So Young doesn’t enjoy another 1 to 8 odds-on jaunt like he did at Thurles last time. Before that he’d won at 2 to 5 at Punchestown. The odds might not be very tight this time but So Young can still score before stepping back up to the highest class.
The Mullins team unveil a fascinating newcomer to Irish racing in the opening maiden hurdle. Terminal won his last three starts in France, all 1½ mile bumpers; and all of them easily. Mullins’s success-rate with French horses that have come to Ireland with much less impressive profiles is well established so Terminal looks one to look forward to.
Raise Hell boasts nothing like similar credentials in the finale. But the Mullins team have such a line on bumper form that the Gigginstown runner must be respected. Tullintain chased home Seabass at Limerick where he finished ahead of Silent Creek. Both line up again for the €27,500 handicap chase, but the Limerick outing could play to Silent Creek’s advantage.
