The five-year-old outclassed the opposition in four-year-old maiden at Belclare last March, after which he cost his current connections £420,000 at last year’s Cheltenham Festival sale. Despite having been off the track for the best part of 10 months, the son of Kayf Tara – who hails from the family of two-time Listed bumper winner Cap Soleil – had been the subject of glowing reports ahead of his Rules debut, for which he was sent off an uneasy Evens favourite.
Having been much shorter overnight and earlier in the day, he settled in second in what was just a moderately-run contest. Having cruised to the front, he picked up well to win with a bit more in hand than the official margin would suggest. The runner-up was beaten much further at Down Royal the time before, but did have race-fitness on side and Romeo Coolio is sure to appreciate a stiffer test of stamina, in a more truly-run race.
Whilst, visually, it might not have been the display of a horse who warrants being a single-figure price for the Champion Bumper, his trainer suggested the following day that he was on target for the race and would head straight to Cheltenham, without another run. Elliott was also quick to point out that several of his other runners on the card had underperformed and the numbers will tell you that – by his high standards – he is going through a relatively quiet spell.
Interestingly, Briar Hill (2013) is the last winner of Champion Bumper to have had just the one run beforehand, whilst seven of the past eight winners arrived at Prestbury Park on the back of having won at either Listed or Grade 2 level.
Two days later, the well-bred mare Maughreen burst onto the scene, when winning emphatically at Punchestown. A five-year-old mare by Walk In The Park, her dam is an un-raced half-sister to 2015 Champion Hurdle winner Faugheen, making her a full-sister to the Tom Lacey-trained Blow Your Wad, winner of the novices’ handicap chase at Kempton on Boxing Day and now rated 141.
Jumpers To Follow readers might well have been aware of Maughreen, thanks to Alex Hammond (Sky Sports Racing) nominating her as a horse to follow for the season and she could hardly have made a more pleasing start to her career, travelling comfortably throughout and running out an 11-length winner.
In terms of form, it is difficult to get excited about the mares in behind, but the manner of victory was quite striking and she eased right away inside the final furlong, without having to be asked any sort of serious question by Patrick Mullins. To put the form into some sort of context, however, the third (beaten less than 12 lengths) had been beaten some 34 lengths by Joystick at Leopardstown over Christmas.
It will be interesting to see where Mullins opts to run Maughreen next, but you would like to hope that the Dublin Racing Festival – namely the Coolmore-sponsored bumper – will be considered, although it is a relatively quick turnaround. On a positive note, 2018 Champion Bumper winner Relegate (pictured) won the very same bumper on debut (13th January) before winning the aforementioned Grade 2 at Leopardstown (4th February) en route to Cheltenham. Maughreen obviously has two days less recovery time from her debut success to the Leopardstown contest, so a lot will depend on how she came out of Monday’s race.
If forced to miss the DRF and she does end up heading to straight to Cheltenham, it would mean that she has even less experience than Romeo Coolio, who had at least won that maiden Point. The last horse to win the Champion Bumper on the back of one run – and no prior Point-to-Point experience – was Cue Card in 2010, whilst Mullins managed it with Cousin Vinny, just two years earlier.
It would be a huge ask for a mare with such limited experience, but at this stage, there aren’t too many standout performers in the division and if her trainer sees fit to send her to Cheltenham, that has to be respected. Other spring options would include the Nickel Coin at Aintree – a race which Mullins won in 2022 with Ashroe Diamond – and the Weatherbys General Stud Book-sponsored Grade 3 at the Punchestown Festival, a race in which the trainer boasts a fine record.
I will certainly be curious to see if Maughreen is handed an entry at the Dublin Racing Festival, a weekend which could be quite significant in terms of Champion Bumper clues. Newbury stages a Listed contest the following Saturday (10th February), so there is still time for more contenders to emerge.