French Champion Hurdle preview

Willie Mullins launches a formidable three-pronged assault on the French Champion Hurdle at Auteuil this afternoon in a bid to win the prestigious contest for the fifth time.

Having seen his late father Paddy triumph with the mighty mare Dawn Run in the 1980s, Mullins has targeted the Grade One contest frequently in recent years and has enjoyed tremendous success at the Paris track.

Nobody Told Me and Rule Supreme claimed victory for the Mullins team in 2003 and 2004, while Thousand Stars was successful in 2011 and 2012.

The admirable grey returns in a bid to regain his crown, having claimed the Prix la Barka, the traditional warm-up race for what is officially known as the Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil, for a second time under Katie Walsh last month.

Mullins said: "Thousand Stars goes back there in good form. We know he likes the track, stepping back up in trip obviously won't be a bother to him and he gets on well with Katie, so it's all positive."

Thousand Stars is joined in the race by stable companions Diakali and Zaidpour, who were third and fifth respectively in the Prix la Barka.

Diakali, who will be ridden by Ruby Walsh, won the Prix Alain Du Breil at this fixture 12 months ago, while Zaidpour was third in the Champion Hurdle and is back for more in the hands of Paul Townend.

"Diakali learnt a lot from his prep run in Auteuil last year to win the big four-year-old race at this meeting, putting in a much better round of jumping the second time," said Mullins.

"If he can make the same level of improvement again from his run in the Prix la Barka, he must go into the race with a major chance.

"Zaidpour ran a much better race in this race last year than he had done previously in the Barka, so if he can improve again this time around that will give him a chance of getting into the prize-money. The longer trip will definitely be a help to him, as will the rain that's forecast on Saturday."

Thousand Stars scraped home by a nose in Paris last month and the runner-up, Le Grand Luce, reopposes this weekend.

The Mullins brigade are joined on the trip from Ireland by the Tony Martin-trained Bog Warrior, last seen winning over fences at Navan at the end of March.

The 10-year-old was sidelined for almost a year by injury after finishing fifth in the World Hurdle at last year's Cheltenham Festival.

Although he was disappointing on his first two runs after the lengthy absence, he got his career back on track with victory in the Webster Cup at Navan, and Martin hopes his charge can continue his resurgence under Barry Geraghty in the three-and-a-quarter-mile Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil.

The trainer said: "He seems in good form, we're very happy with him and we're going over with him as we think everything is in his favour.

"He needs soft ground at this stage of his career, you usually get that at Auteuil and hopefully that will be the case on Sunday.

"He was good in Navan the last day and we just couldn't get him ready enough to run at the Festivals (at Cheltenham and Punchestown).

"We're pleased with him at the moment, though, so hopefully he'll give a good account of himself on Sunday."

Paul Nicholls sends Zarkandar back to France having finished a creditable sixth in the trial, while last year's French Champion Hurdle hero Gemix also features in a 13-strong field.