Willie Mullins sent runners to Perth for the first time in his career on Wednesday in his attempt to close the gap on Paul Nicholls in the race for the jumps trainers’ championship, and was rewarded with a one-two in the feature event on the second day of the track’s Festival meeting.
Up For Review, who was pulled up in the Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham last month, was the 5-1 outsider of the four runners in the Future Champions Novice Hurdle, but led throughout under Paul Townend and beat his stable companion Nambour by eight lengths. Fagan, a close second in the Albert Bartlett, was struggling some way from home and finished last.
The result was worth nearly £15,000 to Mullins though the Irish champion was still more than £43,000 adrift of Nicholls, who enjoyed a win and a second-placing with two short-priced favourites at Taunton’s evening meeting on Wednesday.
The opposition to Mullins’s strong team for Saturday’s Bet365 Celebration Chase diminished on Wednesday when Henry de Bromhead, the trainer of Special Tiara, suggested that last year’s winner is more likely to line up at Punchestown next week.
Nicholls is a 5-6 chance with Stan James to win his 10th title in 11 seasons ahead of a valuable and potentially decisive card at Sandown on Saturday, while Mullins can be backed at 6-5.
