Cilaos may stay at home after leading Mullins charge on festival trials day

This meeting has long been billed as Cheltenham trials day, but Willie Mullins chose it to reveal some of the horses who may wait for Fairyhouse and Punchestown later in the spring. The smart Cilaos Emery could be on that list after his victory in the opening Grade 3 Whatoddspaddy? Chase.

The Califet gelding, not seen since finishing second in the Clonmel Oil Chase in November, could not have been much more impressive under Paul Townend in giving 9lb and an 11-length beating to Daly Tiger, a horse with two big handicap chase successes to his name this season.

Paddy Power cut Cilaos Emery to 16-1 (from 33) for the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase, one of two races he holds entries in, along with the Ryanair Chase, at the Cheltenham Festival.

However, Mullins was lukewarm about him running at Cheltenham, despite his good fourth to Epatante in last year's Champion Hurdle. He said: "I don't know if he will travel on the back of that. We'll try to find another similar race for him. There might be some nice prizes on the home front for him."

The champion trainer added: "The break did him no harm, he has come back good and strong and he jumped great, which I was particularly pleased with."

Rain sparkles in sunshine

The Grade 2 novice hurdle was not the strongest contest of its type but it might have produced an above-average winner in Echoes In Rain, who completed a Graded-race double for Mullins and Townend.

The daughter of Authorized was returning to the scene of her maiden success in December, when half the hurdles had been omitted due to low sun. This proves more of a jumping test, one she passed before showing a potent turn of foot to easily account for geldings Belfast Banter and Desir Du Large.

Echoes In Rain does not have any Cheltenham entries, and Mullins said: "She's improving all the time. She is learning to settle and there was a very good pace, which helped her do that."

He added: "There's a novice hurdle here in two weeks and another at Fairyhouse three weeks later. We'll have a look at both races. It would be a tough ask but it might do her no harm experience-wise to run in both.

"She has a lovely turn of foot and if we could teach her to settle better and use that she could turn into a very smart two-miler."

Zoffanien Boodles-bound

One horse who looks Cheltenham-bound is Zoffanien, who will travel to contest the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle after getting off the mark quite emphatically in the four-year-olds' handicap hurdle.

It reunited trainer Denis Hogan, owner Liam Mulryan and rider Hugh Morgan after the heroics at Navan a week earlier when Morgan won on Young Dev without the aid of irons.

"We decided to give him stirrups today," joked Hogan, who added: "This horse has run into one or two smart horses and he did it well there. He needed to, he'll be going to the Boodles after this, and he would have no right to go there if he couldn't do what he did today.

"So hopefully he'll come out of this race well and get there in one piece. He handles soft ground and stays well, and I'm thrilled to get another good one for Liam Mulryan. He's a great supporter of mine and I enjoy training for him."

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