Kitzbuhel could be Aintree bound after Grade 3 Gowran victory Kitzbuhel made it two wins from as many starts for current connections when justifying prohibitive odds in the Grade 3 Red Mills Trial Hurdle to complete a quick double for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend at Gowran. The five-year-old French import led early in the straight and after shrugging off stablemate Sir Gerhard, faced a challenge from Break My Soul soon after the last. However, the 2/7 favourite found plenty when asked by Townend and kept on well to score by two and three-quarter lengths. Sir Gerhard finished a further six and a half lengths back in third. Mullins said, "It was a nice performance. I loved the way he jumped, he’ll have no trouble going over fences. “I love the way he stayed on. It looked like the race was over after he had taken on Sir Gerhard and then he had to find again to take on Break My Soul. “It’s the sign of a real good horse that he’s able to pick up a second time, which he did. “I’m probably looking at Liverpool more so than Cheltenham with him, with the timing of the race. “The two-and-a-half mile at Liverpool in the Aintree Hurdle would be a big possibility. That’s what I’m looking at at the moment. “I think he’d love to step up in trip. I’d have no problem going three miles but two-and-a-half miles in Aintree might be more his thing at this point in his career. “We’ll see what he does in his next two runs but the way he jumped there he looks like he has real potential as a novice chaser.” Quotes by Gary Carson
