Avant Tout excites connections Connections of Avant Tout are excited to find out what he can achieve this spring after giving stablemate Outlander a run for his money at Limerick over Christmas. A winner of a three-mile handicap hurdle at last season's Punchestown Festival, Avant Tout dropped back to two miles when making a winning debut over fences at Tramore in May and tackled an intermediate distance stepping up to Grade Two level for Limerick's Shannon Airport Novice Chase. After cutting out much of the running, Outlander eventually wore him down, but the Supreme Horse Racing Club's racing manager Steve Massey feels Avant Tout will be a better horse when the ground dries up and already has one eye on an appearance at the Cheltenham Festival. "Avant Tout ran a fantastic race and it was amazing to see him get so close to Outlander on that ground, to be honest," said Massey. "He's a light-framed horse and we know he'll be better on better ground in the spring, as he showed when winning at Punchestown last year. "He jumps very well - he's a natural - and he's one we're really looking forward to for the second half of the season. "There are a few options, but as always we'll let Willie (Mullins) decide where he wants to run him. "While the ground is heavy, he'll probably be sticking to two and a half miles, before going back up to three miles in the spring. "The horse that was third at Limerick (Free Expression) is rated 144, so you'd imagine Avant Tout ran to about 150, which is fantastic. "He's one we hope will be going across the water in March with high hopes."
