'Mullins doesn't really start turning the screw until this time of year' - Connections to Follow at Thurles Ireland’s sole meeting on Thursday is provided by Thurles and we have an interesting eight-race card to look forward to. There’s a good mix of action on offer and the Listed Racing TV Club Day Chase is the highlight of the card. The going is currently described as ‘yielding, good to yielding in places’ and the racing looks thoroughly competitive. We’ve selected an owner, trainer and jockey to follow and whilst the names won’t surprise you, they are definitely the ones to watch. Owner - Sean & Bernardine Mulryan Cheltenham Festival-winning owners Sean & Bernardine Mulryan are set to be represented by one runner at Thurles on Thursday and whilst he has been a little underwhelming on the whole so far, it’s too early to give up on him just yet. Peaceinthevalley was a €60,000 purchase and there’s plenty to like about his pedigree. The six-year-old is out of a half-sister to Nicky Henderson’s very smart hurdler Peace And Co, who won the Triumph Hurdle as a juvenile. We haven’t seen the best of him yet. Henry de Bromhead’s runner looked in need of the outing when running out of gas just before the second-last hurdle at Naas last time out and getting hampered by a faller certainly didn’t help his cause. It would be reasonable to expect an improved performance this time around. Trainer - Willie Mullins Willie Mullins doesn’t really start turning the screw until this time of year and there have been signs recently that he’s ready to hit top gear. He has plenty of runners at Thurles on Thursday, including the very smart Salvator Mundi, who makes his first start over fences. Kappa Jy Pyke and Sainte Tartare also run in the same race and could pick up the pieces if the favourite fails to make it round. Appreciate It and Classic Getaway go in the feature Listed contest and both have excellent chances on their best form. Arslan finished third in a bumper on debut for this yard at Fairyhouse last term and there should be more to come from him over hurdles. French import Le Divin Enfant had two runs in France and there’s no one better at unearthing hidden gems from France than Mullins. Jockey - Paul Townend Champion jockey Paul Townend is 30 winners behind current leader Darragh O’Keeffe and Thursday could be a huge day in the title race. Townend is set to have four rides at Thurles and all of them have decent chances of winning. Salvator Mundi was an excellent novice hurdler last term and was well fancied for the Supreme until stablemate Kopek Des Bordes took over. He went on to win a Grade 1 at Aintree however and it’s very difficult to foresee anything but victory here. Appreciate It is the joint-highest rated runner in the main event and possesses more than enough ability to win this Listed contest. Arslan and Le Divin Enfant both run in maiden hurdles and the Townend/Mullins combination is usually the right way to go.
