Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MORGIANA DATE FOR KLASSICAL
CHAMPION Hurdle favourite Klassical Dream is set to make his seasonal debut in the Grade 1 Unibet Morgiana Hurdle in Punchestown on Saturday.
Unbeaten in his novice campaign last season, landing Grade 1 prizes at Leopardstown, Cheltenham and Punchestown, the five-year-old will lead the Closutton challenge on Saturday’s race, which Willie Mullins will be trying to win for the ninth successive year.
Mullins is responsible for three of just five acceptors for the Morgiana following yesterday’s forfeit stage, with last year’s winner Sharjah and exciting five-year-old Saldier also in the race.
The potential non-mullins runners are Henry de Bromhead’s Petit
Mouchoir and the Eamonn Delany-trained longshot Yaha Fizz.
Punchestown’s two-day weekend meetings also features a couple of Grade 2 novice chases, the Craddockstown, for which Gordon Elliott’s Battleoverdoyen will be a leading contender on Sunday, and the Florida
Pearl in which Notebook, Moon Over Germany and Éclair De Beaufeu might clash, on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Joseph O’brien has confirmed Us And Them (JJ Slevin) a definite runner in
Saturday’s Betvictor Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
And Henry de Bromhead intends having two runners at Cheltenham this weekend, Dancing On My Own (Rachael Blackmore) in the Grade 2 Ballymore Novice Hurdle on Friday and progressive mare Put The Kettle On (Aidan Coleman) in the Grade 2 Arkle trial on Sunday.
de Bromhead and Blackmore struck with classy mare Honeysuckle, on her seasonal debut, in the www.fairyhouse.ie Hurdle un Fairyhouse yesterday.
Sent off at 30/100, she coasted to a smooth, 11 lengths victory over Easy Game, prompting her trainer to comment:
“It’s nice to have her back and both Rachael and myself are delighted with her.”
Fairyhouse meeting, cancelled on Monday, has been rescheduled for next Tuesday, November 19.