Briar goes hurdling at Wexford Briar Hill, winner of the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham in March, makes his eagerly-awaited debut over jumps on Tuesday when he lines up for the Supporters Club AGM & Table Quiz Maiden Hurdle at Wexford. The Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old, a former-point-to-point winner, was allowed to go off at a surprising 25/1 at the Festival, despite his stable's record in the race and having the assistance of Ruby Walsh in the saddle. Owned by Graham Wylie, Briar Hill is one of 11 declared for the two-and-a-quarter-mile heat, with Henry de Bromhead running an interesting newcomer in Molly Connors, a half-sister to 2007 Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle hero Massini's Maguire. Assessing Briar Hill in a recent stable tour on his website, www.wpmullins.com, Mullins said: "Everything he has done on the track has surpassed what he's shown at home and that is usually a good sign. He looks one for the staying novice hurdle division and hopefully he will reach the top. "He might be an Albert Bartlett horse, if not one for the Neptune."
