Thurles to provide some festive delights

IT IS HOPED that Willie Mullins will not be cast in the role of ‘Bad Santa’ over the holiday period.

Starting with the Horse And Jockey Hotel Hurdle at Thurles this afternoon, Mullins has a host of goodies over the next week. Some look too good to be true and those oddson chances surely cannot all win.

Mullins’ Un de Sceaux faces just a couple of opponents at the Co Tipperary racecourse, and the trainer will frighten off most of the opposition in many of the main events at Leopardstown.

Analifet in the Knight Frank Juvenile Hurdle and Champagne Fever in the Racing Post Novice Chase are both set to start at prohibitive odds at Foxrock on St Stephen’s Day; and Mullins’ Hurricane Fly returns to duty in the Ryanair Hurdle on this day week.

Paddy Power’s big day, on Friday, looks more competitive and it will be even more interesting if Donald McCain’s Sydney Paget travels over for the Paddy Power Chase. The bookmaking firm’s DialA-Bet Chase looks a match between Mullins’ Arvila Ligeonniere and Henry de Bromhead’s evergreen Sizing Europe.

With his ability to stay now without question, Colin Tizzard’s Cure Card will take the beating in the King George VI chase at Kempton Park on Thursday.

Nicky Henderson will have old favourite Long Run there but is likely to send his Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Bobs Worth to Saturday’s Lexus Chase at Leopardstown rather than take on Cue Card again.