Business as usual for Lossiemouth on the way to Cheltenham

Superstar mare Lossiemouth is scheduled to again kick off her campaign in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown on Saturday week.

The grey provided Willie Mullins with his 14th victory in the Grade One highlight last season before going on to claim a fourth success at the Cheltenham Festival in the Champion Hurdle.

Having rounded off her season by claiming her 11th Grade One victory in the Punchestown Champion Hurdle, Lossiemouth will follow a familiar route back to Prestbury Park in March.

“Morgiana, Christmas (at Leopardstown), Dublin Racing Festival would be the plan. I just want to keep her sound and in the form that she’s been in and then she can go to Cheltenham and Punchestown – that would be the dream anyway,” said Mullins.

“I’m very happy with her – she’s doing everything right.”

With several stablemates that are in the Champion Hurdle reckoning going chasing instead, Lossiemouth is very much the number one contender in the two-mile hurdling division based at Closutton, while Jimmy Du Seuil is considered the trainer’s chief hope for the Stayers’ Hurdle.

The seven-year-old won what is now the BetMGM Cup at Cheltenham two seasons ago and after losing his way over fences last season, he reverted to the smaller obstacles to finish second to Bob Olinger in the Champion Stayers Hurdle at Punchestown.

“Jimmy Du Seuil going down Stayers’ Hurdle route and will start off in Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse (November 29),” Mullins continued.

“I don’t know if his rating is good enough to go the whole way, but we’ll give him the chance.”

Ballyburn was second in last season’s Stayers’ Hurdle but will miss at least the first half of this campaign through injury, while Grade One-winning novice Jasmin De Vaux is out for the entire year.

Of the many exciting novice hurdlers Mullins has on his hands, the best seen so far appears to be Love Me Tender, who heads ante-post lists for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle after overcoming a few jumping errors to win easily at Naas last weekend.

“To me we haven’t had a novice hurdler like that for a while given how middling he jumped. Paul (Townend) rode him with kid gloves down the back and I was wondering if the race was getting away from him,” said Mullins.

“But the further he came up the straight the better he was going. His jumping will have to improve, but there is hope because his best jump was at the last when the pace was up, so when he runs in those better races, slower ground and the pace alone will help him get into a better rhythm.”

It is clearly very early in the season to be talking about juvenile hurdlers, but one who looks to be close to if not at the top of the pecking order is French recruit Chic Me, who won her only start to date at Auteuil.

Mullins added: “I think she’s quite good and I’m hoping she’s a Triumph Hurdle filly. She might start off at Fairyhouse at the Hatton’s Grace meeting.”