Mullins outlines plans for novice hurdlers

Willie Mullins is plotting a route to Cheltenham with his impressive team of novices but he has all but ruled out a tilt at the Champion Hurdle with Hurricane Fly.

The French import has already won twice at the highest level this season and there had been suggestions in some quarters that Mullins may be tempted to throw the five-year-old into the mix against the best.

Instead Mullins now has the nice problem of deciding which races Hurricane Fly, Cousin Vinny and the less heralded Quiscover Fontaine run in at the Festival.

'Apart from having a good Christmas we've had an injury free Christmas also which is just as important. They all came back safe,' said Mullins.

'Hurricane Fly seems to have improved again from Fairyhouse and what he did the other day (at Leopardstown) was very good. I'm not a fan of running novices in championship events, so at the moment the Champion Hurdle isn't on the radar with him.'

'I know Katchit won it as a five-year-old last year but he was the first one for ages and those statistics don't give me much heart. He'll probably get an entry in it but it is not a thing I'd be bursting to do.'

'He's already run in the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle in France and in two Grade Ones in Ireland and won them both. Hopefully he'll have another run before Cheltenham but I want to go back to France with him and hopefully take in Punchestown as well.'

'I don't need to be thinking about Champion Hurdles, if I can make use of his novice year I'd rather do that. I won't be losing sleep about which races they run in though, I only lose sleep if I have problems with them! At the moment I'm in a nice position.'

'I was pleased with the way Cousin Vinny got in close to the last but still quickened up after it. It's all right horses jumping well but they've got to learn how to meet one wrong, make a mistake and get away with it.'

'Plenty of horses can jump well but the minute they meet a hurdle or fence wrong they don't know what to do, it's in these little races you want them to make the errors. Patrick (Mullins) has done nothing wrong on the horse and knows him inside out.'

'Quiscover Fontaine is improving all the time and his run the other day was a big improvement. He got a great ride from Emmet (Mullins), he was very cool on him, he was awfully confident and he came home like a steam train.'

'I'm looking forward to him, he might be harder to place but he's obviously got more speed than he showed us last year as a bumper horse.'

'He was very backward last year but has put it all together this year, if the ground dries up he'll probably step up in trip. I definitely see him running at Punchestown, and he'll be entered in all the novice races at Cheltenham.'