Mullins on the double at Thurles For a four-year-old filly Unika La Reconce put up a lovely performance in the Gift Horse Gallery Horse & Jockey Hotel Mares Maiden Hurdle under Ruby Walsh to bring up a short-priced Thurles double for Willie Mullins. The French-import threw some beautiful leaps on her Irish debut. She achieved the win from the front and put the race to bed from before the last on her way to a twelve length thrashing of second favourite, Speckled Wood. Mullins, on the mark in the previous event with Midnight Game, said of Susannah Ricci's Unika La Reconce: "She's a mare that'll probably be better over fences. She doesn't really have respect for those hurdles but she'll go down the mares novice hurdle route now. "She's a fine big mare and she'll carry weight over a fence. She might come back here in March for that novice hurdle that comes up before Cheltenham. "The Grade 1 mares novice hurdle at Fairyhouse would be a possibility as well. "She was bought from the same trainer in France that had Arvika Ligeonniere - Philippe Peltier. "She's by Robin Des Champs and we like those." (TW & EM)
