News round-up: Asian Maze, the Aintree and Punchestown Festival winner that earned comparisons with the legendary Dawn Run last season, is not likely to run again until the New Year.
But despite that her trainer Tom Mullins hasn't ruled out an attempt at the Smurfit Champion Hurdle.
A sparkling spring campaign saw Asian Maze graduate to the top of the novice tree with Grade One wins in both the three-mile Sefton Hurdle at Liverpool and the two-and-a-half mile Menolly Homes Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.
The latter display resulted in Mullins describing it as a "Dawn Run performance," a significant comment since his father, Paddy, trained Dawn Run and he himself rode her in some of her bumper races.
On the back of that Asian Maze remains a 16 to 1 shot with the sponsors for the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at Cheltenham despite not having been seen since April. However, Mullins himself is eying up a possible bid for the Champion Hurdle itself which Dawn Run won 21 years ago.
A more immediate task for the trainer will be to get his stable star back to full fitness and that is proving less than straight-forward after Asian Maze picked up a foot injury over a month ago.
"We were hoping to run in a Listed hurdle at Punchestown last month but a few days before it she got a haematoma in a hind leg which was very painful for a few days.
"She was actually only lame that first day and it's really only a small injury. But it has to repair and it's taking its time to heal. She has been only walking since but we are hoping to get a saddle on her in about two weeks time," Mullins said yesterday.
A prospective return to action is being pencilled in for January and there could be a pre-festival trip to Cheltenham for the Grade Two Byrne Bros Cleeve Hurdle on January 28th.
"There may be other options at home around then but further ahead we are still definitely looking at Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown.
"We will enter her for the Stayers' and the Champion at Cheltenham but I definitely want to put my foot in the water and see if she can make a bid for the Champion.
"That's very much in my mind. A good mare getting 7lb is a big plus over there so we will see how things go," he added.
That would only add to the apparent strength in depth of Irish-trained horses trying to win the Champion Hurdle and there may be early than expected evidence of the well being of the current double champion Hardy Eustace.
The Dessie Hughes-trained horse had not been expected to race again until the New Year but now he may make the bewleyshotel.com December Festival Hurdle on the last day of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival (December 29th.) "We changed plans this season and we were thinking of waiting until January before starting him off. But there is a chance he might make it back for a first run at Leopardstown," said Hughes.
"He has been on the go for six weeks now but he's only been doing proper cantering for the past two weeks. He is in very good form and he looks a million dollars. We're very happy with him. He might make it at Christmas but if he does he will need the run. Everything is being geared to a third Champion Hurdle," he added.
The top jockey David Casey has a more immediate big race target, however, as he has been booked to ride the French raider L'Ami in tomorrow's Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury.
The Francois Doumen-trained horse was fourth in last season's SunAlliance Chase and will again face Trabolgan, Comply Or Die and Cornish Rebel.
"He's a bit better off with those horses so hopefully he has a chance," said Casey yesterday. "He's had a couple of runs in Paris so he goes there with a chance."
