Willie Mullins has a runner in the Curragh's weekend finale but his principal focus this Sunday is on Paris where Shaneshill will attempt to give Ireland's champion jumps trainer a fifth success in the French Champion Hurdle.
The Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil is off at 2.45 Irish-time and Shaneshill will renew rivalry with the Nicky Henderson-trained L’Ami Serge who he beat in last month’s Prix La Barka at the Auteuil track.
Paul Nicholls sends last year’s winner Ptit Zig back to the €370,000 highlight and the British contingent for the ten-runner race also includes One Track Mind.
The last of Mullins’s four wins in the race came when Thousand Stars completed back-to-back victories in 2012 and he is hopeful Shaneshill can prove to be a transformed summer character.
“He’s been hard to train during the winter but I think he’s going to be a lot easier to train in this summer weather,” he said. “He promised an awful lot early on. I think he’s a bit stronger and maybe he can go through with the promise he showed me.”
Ruby Walsh will be on board Shaneshill and the champion jockey rides the Mullins-trained Bapaume in the €270,000 Grade One Prix Alain Du Breil which is due off at 4.05 on the same Auteuil card.
Mullins also runs Dandy Mag (Paul Townend) in France’s equivalent of the Triumph Hurdle which the trainer has won twice before including with Footpad a year ago.
Ten runners
The unraced four year old High Haven is Mullins’s Curragh representative in the final contest over two weekend fixtures at HQ.
They are the final Curragh meetings before the Irish Derby festival in less than three weeks and the Listed TRI Silver Stakes contains one colt still remaining in the €1.5 million classic.
Titus is a 33-1 shot in some ante-post lists for the Irish Derby and he is one of just two three year olds among the ten runners for Sunday’s Listed contest.
The Juddmonte colt has had just a single career start to date when beating the subsequent Chester Vase winner Venice Beach in a back-end maiden at Leopardstown last season.
A hold-up in the Spring prevented a return to action until now and with Pat Smullen sitting out a one-day suspension it is Leigh Roche who takes the ride.
The 108-rated Laganore also holds an entry in a Group Three at Haydock on Saturday but is reportedly set to stay at home and she sets a decent standard. However three year olds have a decent record in the Silver Stakes including when Trading Leather won it en-route to Curragh Derby glory in 2013.
Sunday’s feature event is the Group Three TRM Ballyogan Stakes which includes four cross-channel hopefuls. Only Mine looks to have solid claims however judged by her fine second to Gordon Lord Byron in the Greenlands Stakes a fortnight ago.
