Impaire primed to Passe Punchestown test for Willie

WILLIE MULLINS will test runaway maiden winner Impaire Et Passe among Grade Two company in the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle at Punchestown on Sunday.

The five-year-old joined the Mullins stable with a six-length French bumper win under his belt and made his debut over hurdles in a Naas maiden shortly before Christmas.

Carrying the double green silks of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, he was a leisurely 18-length victor from a busy field that included 23 rivals.

A step up in class now follows in the

Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle, a race Mullins has historically dominated with horses such as Vautour, Douvan, Min and most recently Dysart Dynamo.

‘I think Impaire Et Passe is the obvious candidate for the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle,’ said Patrick Mullins, assistant to his father.

‘He is a big scopey horse who won well at Naas the last day.

‘He had been working well at home going to Naas but certainly nothing like what he showed that day and that surpassed our expectations.’

The Mullins stable have a second entrant in the race in the shape of Tax For Max, a more experienced six-yearold who will represent the same owners.

Meanwhile, Charlie Longsdon’s wellrelated Guetapan Collonges is preparing to line up for a tilt at Warwick’s Wigley Group Classic Handicap Chase on Saturday.

The JP McManus-owned seven-yearold has been making progress as a steeplechaser, winning three of his six starts over fences and continually improving while gradually stepping up in trip.

A fall at Sedgefield in March is the only defeat of his past four runs, the most recent of which was a Warwick success in November.

A further step up in trip now beckons for Classic Chase, a premier handicap run over three miles and five furlongs.

Stamina will come to the fore over that distance and Longsdon’s runner comes from a family in abundant supply of that trait as he is from the same bloodline as 2012 Grand National winner Neptune Collonges.