Aran To Take It Slowly

Aranleigh will be gradually stepped up in grade after making a winning debut over timber at Gowran Park on Saturday.

The Tony Mullins-trained five-year-old finished a close third in the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival last term, and already heads the ante-post markets for the Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle next March.

Owned by JP McManus, Aranleigh stayed on strongly to defeat Made In Taipan by a head at the weekend and is reported to have taken the race in his stride.

'You wouldn't know he'd even had a run and he's in great form,' said Mullins.

'We saw nothing exciting but he just needs to concentrate a bit more. As it gets more competitive, I think he will get more competitive.

'He's just that sort of a horse, and Andrew (McNamara, jockey) was saying he was actually looking at the trees on the way round.'

Aranleigh is likely to take a step up in trip next time, and while nothing has been set in stone, Mullins is looking at a race at Navan on December 8.

'We will upgrade him slowly, as I don't want to put him into a Graded race next and have him fired in at the first couple of hurdles and frighten him,' he continued.

'I would imagine we'll be stepping him up in trip, but I'm treating him as a good horse and he wasn't fired up completely for that last time.

'There's a nice winners-of-one at Navan on Saturday December 8. That's over two and a half miles but we haven't ridden him out or discussed it yet.'

(C) PA Sport