Mullins Marking Time

Time Electric could head straight for the Cheltenham Festival in March without the aid of another run due to the testing ground in Ireland.

The six-year-old was well supported prior to his bumper debut at Leopardstown last month and landed a few hefty bets when turning in a hugely-impressive performance to score by eight lengths.

That victory propelled him to the head of the market for the Champion Bumper and although he holds an entry at Gowran Park on Thursday, trainer Tom Mullins is wary of running his charge on very testing ground before the big day.

Mullins said: 'I think we can safely say it is going to be too heavy at Gowran so we'll probably give it a miss. I haven't really looked to see where he might go next, but I can't see anything in the near future.

'If there is a winners' bumper somewhere and the ground was right we might have a go, but I wouldn't want to take a chance on him so close to Cheltenham.

'There is every chance he could go straight there as the ground in Ireland is horrendous at the moment.'

Time Electric is a best-priced 8-1 for Cheltenham with Paddy Power.

Meanwhile, Mullins has yet to decide where Made In Taipan will run this weekend, with the six-year-old currently engaged at Cheltenham on Saturday and Leopardstown on Sunday.

He added: 'I'm not sure where he'll go yet. I just entered him in England to give him the option of having some track experience in case we decide to go to the Festival.

'I'd say it's 50-50 where he goes at the moment.'

(C) PA Sport