Hurricane Fly and Solwhit clash again in December Festival Hurdle

Hurricane Fly

Willie Mullins will be well represented in the three Grade One races on the second day of the Christmas meeting at Leopardstown on Wednesday.

Hurricane Fly and Solwhit meet for a fourth time in the paddypower.com iPhone App December Festival Hurdle at Leopardstown, for which five runners have been declared. Luska Lad, the County Hurdle winner, Won In The Dark and Thousand Stars – another Mullins runner - complete the field but this would appear to be a straight fight between the two principals who are officially rated just 1lb apart, in Hurricane Fly’s favour.

The score between the two horses – the winners of 11 Grade One races over hurdles – stands at 2-1 to Hurricane Fly after he made a winning seasonal comeback to beat Solwhit by one-and-half lengths in the Grade One Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse two weeks ago. Mullins admitted to a sense of anxiety as to whether his horse would be ready, physically, to the exertions of another race so soon. “He had a hard race at Fairyhouse. People think he had an easy race because he won but this ground pulls it out of you. We’d all love another week but the race is tomorrow and we have to run,” Mullins said.

It was on that same card that stable companion Zaidpour confirmed the promise of his maiden win at Punchestown when he won Grade One Royal Bond Novices’ Hurdle, which he won by 12 lengths. Now he puts his reputation on the line in the paddypowerpoker.com Future Champions Novice Hurdle when he takes on the unbeaten Hidden Cyclone, who makes the step up to Grade One level having beaten Hazeymm in the Grade Three "For Auction" Novice Hurdle at Navan last month.

Again the cautious side of Mullins came to the fore although the trainer did concede that: whether those races are going to impact on these horses tomorrow or not, I don’t know. But, if they run anything like their Fairyhouse races, they have a great chance.”

Mullins has three declared runners - Golden Silver, Scotsirish and J'y Vole – in the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase. However, they may be bit-part players in a race which is likely to be dominated by Big Zeb, the winner of the Queen Mother Champion Chase, and Captain Cee Bee, one of the most likely pretenders to his title.

Barry Geraghty has ridden Big Zeb in his last seven starts and maintains the partnership. The jockey had been expected to travel to Newbury to ride Punchestowns for Nicky Henderson. However, Tony McCoy has taken that ride with Mark Walsh riding the JP McManus-owned Captain Cee Bee, whom he rode to win at Naas in early November.

Paul Wheeler

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