Mullins sends raiding party to France Willie Mullins sends a strong squad to Auteuil on Sunday with Pomme Tiepy leading the charge in the feature Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris. The five-year-old notched up four wins on the bounce earlier in the year, including two wide-margin Grade Two successes, before coming to grief in the Royal & SunAlliance Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. Pomme Tiepy could finish only a distant second behind Air Force One on her latest outing at Punchestown but Mullins hopes a return to soft ground will help recapture her sparkle. He said: "She was a little disappointing at Punchestown and may not be quite herself after a hard season. "She was second over fences here last year and we will just have to see how she gets on. "If she runs well we may train her specifically for this race next year," he told www.wpmullins.com The County Carlow handler sends out three in the Prix La Barka over hurdles, with Cooldine, Scotsirish and Jayo all taking their chances. Ruby Walsh, who also rides Pomme Tiepy, has elected to partner Cooldine following his fine fourth behind Blazing Bailey at Punchestown while Davy Condon will be aboard Scotsirish, who switches back to hurdles after a chasing win last time. Jayo will be the mount of David Casey in the two-mile-six-furlong heat. "Cooldine will love the ground and the trip but has a lot of penalties under the race conditions," Mullins said. "Scotsirish gets in with a nice light weight and provided the ground is loose he might gallop through it. "Jayo might not look up to this on form but is improving all the time. The trip and ground will really suit." Alan King also sends Cheltenham winner Nenuphar Collonges for the the race while Arthur Moore lets Mansony revert to hurdles in a contest that also features the Francois Doumen-trained Millenium Royal. Away from the main events, Mullins also steps useful Flat recruit Hurricane Fly up to Grade Three level in the Prix de Longchamp. The four-year-old beat subsequent Champion Stakes victor Literato in a Listed race last March and made a perfect start for Mullins when claiming a Punchestown maiden event in style earlier this month. "This is a big step up in class and trip for him but on his homework the trip shouldn´t be a problem," the trainer said. "He would like better ground but if he can overcome his lack of experience he should be good enough to win."
