MULLINS TO BE TO THE FOUR DOWN UNDER
WILLIE Mullins is planning to have up to four horses in action in Australia later this autumn.
Former Melbourne Cup second Max Dynamite is due to head back Down Under as is last year’s Irish St Leger second Wicklow Brave.
This pair could be joined by the Royal Ascot hero Thomas Hobson who was in action in yesterday’s Doncaster Cup.
Max Dynamite has run just four times since his near miss at Flemington in 2015.
He was a beaten favourite in last month’s Galway Hurdle but bounced back with a smooth win at Killarney last month.
Meanwhile, Wicklow Brave had to settle for fourth behind Order Of St George at the Curragh last Sunday.
He will be hoping to fare better than last year’s Melbourne Cup outing where he finished down the field.
Perhaps the most interesting of all the Mullins (inset) runners will be Riven Light.
A useful hurdler last season, he has progressed very well since switching back to the flat this summer.
After landing a premier handicap at Galway, the five-year-old won a Listed race at Listowel on Wednesday after which he went straight into quarantine.
Riven Light could potentially clash with Australia’s wonder mare Winx in the Cox Plate late next month.
The incredible Winx will be bidding for a third straight win in what is one of Australia’s premier weight for age contests.
Furthermore the mare is on an unbeaten streak which stretches all the way back to April 2015.
Before the Cox Plate though Riven Light is likely to take his chance in a prep race.
In other news, Gordon Elliott is mulling over the options for Wednesday’s Kerry National hero Potter’s Point.
“We’re just going to let the dust settle before making any decisions but a race like the Munster National at Limerick next month would be an option,” said Elliott. “He is still a novice until December so the other option we have is to go down the novice route until such time as he has to move into open company.
“It’s a nice problem to have and he’s a horse who has come forward well lately and I’d hope there might still be more to come from him.”
Elsewhere Elliott reports that Beckford is in good shape following his latest Group 1 second in last Sunday’s National Stakes.
The trainer said: “Provided all goes well the plan is the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on September 30.”