Unbeaten mare Mullenbeg could bypass Champion Bumper for Sandown on Saturday

One of the leading British hopes for the Weatherbys Champion Bumper could miss the festival after trainer Milton Harris suggested Mullenbeg may instead go to Sandown on Saturday.

The mare is unbeaten in two starts since joining Harris's yard from Ireland in January and was last seen cruising to victory at Cheltenham on Trials day, a performance that saw bookmakers make her a 20-1 shot for the March 16 contest.

However, Harris is instead considering sending the five-year-old to the Listed EBF mares' bumper at Sandown on Saturday, with a decision set to be made at the start of the week.

"Mullenbeg is in great form, but she may go for Sandown instead of Cheltenham," said Harris. "The entries close on Monday and once I've seen them I'll talk to the owners before we make a decision.

"She always works well without being a superstar about it and she has a turn of foot, which is something some three-mile Irish pointers don't have."

Although Harris may end up without that mare at the festival, he could still be represented in the Champion Bumper by four-year-old Rosy Redrum, who was second in her latest start at Newbury.

"She's very good," said Harris. "She won her first race cosily at Wincanton against a Paul Nicholls horse he thinks very highly of, but she had no luck in her last start. She should have won but everything went wrong. I think she's probably a Listed horse for the Flat and gets 17lb in the Champion Bumper.

"The stats, I don't know. Mares can win the bumper, but four-year-old fillies? I'm not sure."

Harris's runners will have to face an imposing Irish team headed by the Gordon Elliott-trained American Mike and Facile Vega, trained by 11-time Champion Bumper winner Willie Mullins.

The strength of the Irish contingent is an issue not just plaguing Harris in the Champion Bumper but in the Triumph Hurdle, where Knight Salute is among the leading British contenders in the market at 12-1 behind Vauban, Pied Piper and Fil Dor.

"The issue is we haven't met them yet," Harris said of the Irish challengers. "It's the same in the Triumph Hurdle. I've got Knight Salute, he's unbeaten in five and won three Grade 2s and they keep telling me he can't win.

"If the Irish horses are as good as they think they are then we might run really well and get fourth, but we'll see."

Knight Salute: a 12-1 shot for the Triumph HurdleCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Knight Salute claimed Grade 2 success at Cheltenham in November and added last month's Adonis Hurdle to his unbeaten streak, but Harris is happy with the relatively quick turnaround for his star novice.

"He's fine at home and is just cantering away," he said. "He's not got much time between now and the festival, and although he's entered in the Boodles he'll go for the Triumph.

"He got there too early at Kempton, but he only ever does as little as he needs to. He was never going to win by 20 lengths on the bridle, that's just not him. It's perfect that he doesn't overdo himself in his races and he'll have no issue getting into a scrap if needed."

Harris will field an exclusively novice squad of runners for the festival, with additional Boodles entries for Aliomaana, Genuflex and Silver Shade, who is also entered in the Triumph.

"These ones could be coming back in future seasons and we've still got lots of youngsters we haven't run yet," said Harris, who has had 43 winners during this campaign, his fourth since returning from a seven-year absence from training.

"We've had to start back with nothing, coming back with eight horses and working up, so people are surprised with where we are. But this was always where we wanted to be and we're still not finished."

Champion Bumper card and betting

Triumph Hurdle card and betting

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