There’s a particularly notable runner in the final race of the card at Punchestown on Monday. The horse in question is trained by Willie Mullins and her dam is an unraced sister to the mighty Faugheen. This means there could be a significant amount of interest in the mare and she’s currently available at 25-1 for the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival in March. Plenty will be expected of her and it’ll be fascinating to see how she gets on. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Maughreen is the mount of Patrick Mullins in the concluding bumper of Punchestown’s seven-race card. This five-year-old is out of a mare called Molly’s Mate and she is Faugheen’s half-sister. Unraced herself, it was clear early on that she would have more value in the breeding shed than on the racecourse.
Willie Mullins’ charge is out of the hugely popular sire Walk In The Park, who has produced the likes of Douvan, Min and Jonbon. This is the sort of pedigree that draws attention and expectations will be high for Maughreen’s debut here.
Her trainer has an exceptional record with his bumper runners so far this season and has already had 41 winners in Ireland, at a strike-rate of 47 per cent. When you also consider that his general strike-rate in the last fortnight is 38 per cent, everything bodes well for her chances.
Currently available at 25-1 for the Champion Bumper in March, you would imagine those odds will be trimmed significantly if she puts in a dominant performance here and manages to get her career off to the best possible start.
If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.