Willie Mullins tempted by a return to fences for Benie Des Dieux

We may not have seen the last of Benie Des Dieux over fences according to Willie Mullins, who says he would be tempted to try chasing again with his star mare next season following her awesome display in the French Champion Hurdle at Auteuil.

Benie Des Dieux has more than made up for her last-flight fall in the OLBG Mares Hurdle at Cheltenham by winning a Grade 1 at the Punchestown festival and then lowering the colours of French sensation De Bon Coeur, a performance Mullins believes was probably the best of her career to date.

Benie Des Dieux is unbeaten in three starts over fences, but has not jumped a fence in public since seeing off Asthuria in a Listed chase at Naas in February 2018.

"I was thrilled with Benie. When you look at the calibre of horses she beat, especially De Bon Coeur who I have an awful lot of respect for, you would have to say it was a very, very good performance and possibly one of her best ever," Mullins said.

A current chasing mark of 147 is very attractive should Mullins decide to go down the Ladbrokes Trophy route at Newbury in November, a race he won in 2018 with Total Recall, but no decision will be made on an early-season target until the autumn.

Mullins said: "I would definitely be tempted to send Benie over fences again at some stage, but we will have to wait and see how she is next season. I don't like to look too far ahead with her."

Benie Des Dieux was one of 11 runners at Auteuil over the weekend for Mullins, with French Made his only other representative to be placed when she finished third in the Grade 1 hurdle for four-year-olds.

"We learned an awful lot from our trip to France last weekend and I would hope I can put that information to good use for next year," Mullins said.

"A few of them didn't handle the track, others didn't handle the trip. There was a lot to take in and it was very much a learning experience in many respects."

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