McConnell looking forward to Encanto Bruno's debut over flights Encanto Bruno is scheduled to make his debut over hurdles in Bellewstown today after showing plenty of ability in bumpers. The five-year-old Mahler gelding landed a point-to-point for Colin Motherway before scoring in his first two bumpers at Cork and Cheltenham for John McConnell. A host of subsequent winners came out of that Prestbury Park race, and it earned him a ticket to the Grade 1 champion bumper at the festival there where he finished mid-division, after racing a shade keenly on ground that was arguably too slow for him. McConnell saddled Mythical Phoenix to win in Bellewstown yesterday evening and said: "The ground (in Bellewstown) is fine, it has dried out and they are actually going to water it. It should be fine. "The ground got very quick at the Curragh, so we gave it a miss. "He schools well. The horse has been in and out now (training), that's the only thing that is holding back the confidence. He seems really well, so we are hopeful. "We'll try and win a couple if we can and, if things go well, we will look to bigger things. "He's not a horse for kind of after mid-November I'd say."
