Promising start for Mullins' French import Willie Mullins’ French import Saint Baco (5/6f) usefully landed Navan’s Mervyn Gray Construction Maiden Hurdle today, producing a capable performance under the champion trainer’s nephew Danny Mullins. Following in the hoofprints of another Mullins-trained, ex-French four-year-old Mikael D'Haguenet to score on his Irish debut at today’s venue, Saint Baco raced prominently and travelled well before going away from Lazare De Star to win by 3.75 lengths. Jockey Danny Mullins reported "No matter how ready they are (following a layoff), it takes a fair beast to come to Navan on winter ground like that and run out a nice winner. We are delighted with the performance and we knew he was a nice horse at home. To put it all together, that's decent. “I have a fine four-year-old that is good and tough through the race, so that was a nice run around for me. When you are on the best horse in the race, you always think the ground is better, although if you are down the field, you are thinking the ground is slower.” Saint Baco is a half-brother to the trainer’s high-class Saint Roi, who won the 2020 County Hurdle under Barry Geraghty. Quotes from Michael Graham
