Tough ask for Mountain Willie Mullins believes Blackstairmountain has plenty on his plate when he makes his seasonal reappearance in the WKD Core Hurdle at Down Royal on Friday. The five-year-old signed off the last campaign with a brilliant display in the Champion Novice Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival, but as a result, he concedes weight all round on his comeback. With recent winners Luska Lad and Gimli's Rock in the line-up, the champion trainer admits a winning return for his charge is going to be very tough to achieve. "It's his first start back and it's a hot looking race with Luska Lad and Jessica Harrington's horse (Gimli's Rock) both in there," said Mullins. "They both have runs under their belts and our horse has his Grade One penalty as well so we're just giving him a run and we'll see where we're going with him. "They're giving the ground as yielding, which is a bit surprising considering the rain we've had, but at least the race is early on the card so we'll be getting the best of the ground." As well as Gimli's Rock, Harrington also saddles the talented Summit Meeting, last seen finishing fourth behind Peddlers Cross at the Cheltenham Festival. Magnum Force and Der Spieler complete the six-runner field.
