Willie Mullins' record-breaking Cheltenham winner Poniros has earned a spot in the upcoming Champion Hurdle following a third-place finish in the Irish Champion Hurdle. The five-year-old horse, owned by Tony Bloom, showed enough promise despite a 14-and-a-half length defeat to convince his connections to target the Festival. Racing manager Sean Graham highlighted limited options but remains optimistic about the horse's potential.
Poniros, trained by Willie Mullins, secured his place in the Champion Hurdle after finishing third behind Gordon Elliott’s Brighterdaysahead and Mullins' own Lossiemouth in the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on Sunday. The 33-1 shot trailed by 14-and-a-half lengths, yet his team believes the performance warrants a return to Cheltenham, where he previously triumphed.
Last year, Poniros delivered one of the Festival's biggest shocks by winning the Triumph Hurdle at 100-1 odds on his hurdling debut, edging out the field by a neck. With only three runs over hurdles to his name, the five-year-old faces restricted entries, ruling out handicaps. As a result, the Champion Hurdle emerges as the most viable path forward this spring.
Sean Graham, racing manager for owner Tony Bloom, explained the decision: “His options are limited because he’s only had three runs over hurdles. So we can’t get into any of the handicaps. We will probably have to go down the Champion Hurdle route with him, he was beaten about 14 lengths.” He added a note of caution mixed with hope: “I don’t think he’ll improve 14lb. I could see him improving five or six lengths for the run. Stranger things have happened, he’s going to be 100-1 but we all know what happened the last time he was 100-1 at Cheltenham.”
Current betting lists Poniros at 16-1 for the Hurdle, with The New Lion favored at 5-2. Graham also discussed the challenges of placing Triumph winners the following season: “Having the Triumph Hurdle winner is brilliant, but the following season the horse becomes very difficult to place as you don’t want to run them before Christmas to give them chance to mature. Then you have a narrow window to run them in before going back to Cheltenham.”
In related news from the Dublin Racing Festival, another Mullins runner, The Reverend—co-owned by Bloom and Ian McAleavy—unseated jockey Harry Cobden after clipping heels in the Tattersalls Ireland Novice. The horse, on his second hurdles start after a debut win at Cork, appeared poised for a challenge before the incident. Graham reported: “He’s fine, he just seemed to clip heels with one of the other horses... Thankfully Harry is fine and the horse is fine. There’s not a bother on him.” He suggested The Reverend could head to the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, potentially finishing fourth or fifth had the race continued.
