Brahma Bull starts off over fences at Tipperary Champion trainer Willie Mullins will be looking to notch up a second winner for the new 2019/20 National Hunt season as he fields Brahma Bull at Tipperary on Thursday. Mullins was again crowned the leading handler at last week’s Punchestown Festival and having bagged a winner on the second day of the new jumps season at Ballinrobe on Tuesday, he sends out Brahma Bull to contest the Berkshire at Kedrah House Stud Beginners Chase. The Rich Ricci-owned gelding is the trainer’s sole representative at Tipperary and while the gelding has been absent since the 2018 Punchestown Festival, he was a high-class hurdler and also won three bumpers. Brahma Bull will be well suited by this two-mile-seven-furlong trip and while he makes his fences debut on his reappearance run, he will nonetheless be nicely primed and might prove too strong for the Edward O'Grady-trained Bootlegger. Gordon Elliott has made an excellent start to the new campaign and having already sent out four winners, he can win the opening Hotel Minella (Mares) Maiden Hurdle with Carrie Des Champs. The mare is already the winner of three bumpers, having won at Downpatrick and twice at Perth last summer, and also filled third-place in a Listed bumper when last seen at Gowran last October. She makes her jumps debut and while she too lacks a recent outing, will be fit and well for this reappearance run and should take all the beating. Casey Jem might be able to put his recent point-to-point experience to good use in the Glenview & Rathbarry Stud Novice Hunter Chase as the Anthony Black-trained gelding bids to add to three recent consecutive points wins as he tackles 10 rivals.
