As such, she is rightly considered among the most exciting prospects in training. The six-year-old has already made a good impression over hurdles this term, so we've profiled the talented mare and had a look at her career to date.

Early days

Bambino Fever was foaled on the 22nd April 2020 and is by the popular stallion Jukebox Jury and out of Midnight Way, who never made it to the racecourse herself. Her half-sibling Dixie Mafia won a couple of point-to-points but is yet to get off the mark under rules.

Willie Mullins also trains her half-sister Cast A Cold Eye, although she could only manage fifth on her debut in a Ballinrobe bumper back in September. Bambino Fever is clearly the most talented of the bunch and she's already a two-time Grade 1 winner.

She looked booked for second when making her debut in a point-to-point at Stowlin in May 2024, but a late faller left her clear and she went on to beat the only other finisher by 40 lengths in the end. Mullins swooped to snap her up off the back of that result.

Top of the tree in bumpers

It was immediately obvious that she was going to be smart, as she was a five-length winner of a bumper at Punchestown on her first start for Mullins. Stepping up to Grade 2 level at the Dublin Racing Festival next, she was even more impressive, scoring with plenty in hand.

Connections sent her over to Cheltenham for the Champion Bumper in March and the mare didn't disappoint. Jodie Townsend was on board once again and she stayed on well up the hill to score by a length-and-a-half and the form is working out really well this season.

Now that the cat was out of the bag, she went off as the 11/8 favourite for the Grade 1 bumper at Punchestown the following month. Another comfortable success was on the cards and she travelled powerfully throughout the race.

More to come over hurdles?

A shock defeat at Naas on seasonal debut threatened to derail her hurdling career but that was to be nothing more than a bump in the road. She didn't do too much wrong on the day but was perhaps lacking a little bit of sharpness.

Leaving that run well behind her at Fairyhouse earlier this month, her price suggested defeat was impossible and the six-year-old didn't disappoint. Mullins' mare made all the running and kicked clear after the second-last to win by 12 lengths.

Bambino Fever has been the ante-post favourite for the Mares' Novices' Hurdle since the market opened and it appears to be her Cheltenham target this year, as she doesn't have an entry in the Supreme or the Turners over 2m5f.

Symbols Explained

ts² Tongue Strap vs² Visor hd² Hood es² Eye Shield ec² Eye Cover cp² Cheekpiece bl² Blinkers tt² Tongue Tie bf Beaten Favourite on Last Run srMentioned in Stewards Report in Results bbvBroke Blood Vessel

The superscript number on headgear bl² indicates number of times worn. A plus bl⁺ indicates more than 10 times where as red background bl¹indicates first time.