Nolan sets sights on Cheltenham prize to round off excellent season in style

Wednesday: Fairyhouse

A Cheltenham Festival winner would be a fitting climax to an excellent season for Paul Nolan, and the Wexford trainer thinks the regally bred HMS Seahorse has a chance of providing just that.

The Coolmore-bred brother to Group 2 winning colt Armory was shortened to a best-priced 16-1 with bet365 for the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle after losing his maiden tag at the third time of asking in the 2m juvenile maiden hurdle.

The Galileo entire was a little awkward at the final two flights, but was travelling at pace at the time under Bryan Cooper and dug deep on the run to the line to win going away from market rival Global Export, who arrived at the last seemingly with all the momentum.

Nolan said: "He has a lovely attitude for a fellow that's still a colt. I thought he was beaten at the second-last but he showed a right bit of guts and Bryan was able to put his stick down in the last 50 yards.

"Hopefully, he'll have an ideal weight in the Boodles and have a chance in that. On better ground he might improve again."

Mullins and Townend dominant again

It was another day of pea shelling for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend as they logged a treble, with two of the winners likely to be Cheltenham-bound.

Dolcita, second in the 2020 mares' novice hurdle at the festival for Mullins before a fruitless spell with Paul Nicholls and Fergal O'Brien in Britain, is a general 16-1 for next month's Mares' Chase after bolting up in quite a well-contested beginners' chase.

On her third start in her second Closutton spell, the French-bred sauntered clear of the front-running Carrigeen Lotus from the second-last to post an effortless 14-length victory.

"She's a little dinger. From her first day schooling she knew what she was at and if she was able to reproduce her run at Naas she was always going to be hard to beat," said Townend.

The Kenny Alexander-owned Heia is a best-priced 25-1 for the mares' novice hurdle at Cheltenham after she made her second Irish start a winning one in the first division of the mares' maiden hurdle, winning unchallenged by five lengths from the staying-on See A Stride.

"That was a nice performance coming back in trip. She was very efficient in her jumping," said Mullins. "I hope she'll improve right the way through and I imagine her next run will be in the mares' novice hurdle at Cheltenham. She's on the right track and I think better ground will suit her."

Tempo Chapter Two completed the Closutton treble in the rated novice hurdle. The son of Morpheus is unlikely to travel to Cheltenham, but paid a handsome compliment to Supreme Novices' Hurdle hopeful El Fabiolo, to whom he had finished a 13-length second at Tramore.

Results, replays and analysis

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