Davenport Milenium set to miss Tipperary race

CHAMPION HURDLE favourite Davenport Milenium will not, after all, make his seasonal reappearance in the John James McManus Memorial Hurdle at Tipperary on Sunday.

The six-year-old jumped to prominence in the betting for hurdle racing’s premier prize with two brilliant performances at the Punchestown Festival in April.

At Thurles yesterday his trainer, Willie Mullins, confirmed that Davenport Milenium’s return would be delayed for a couple of weeks.

Said Mullins: “He worked this morning and I felt he wasn’t quite ready for a run.

“He will need a few more pieces of work before we consider he is ready for an outing.’’

Both National Hunt tracks at Tipperary will be watered, according to course manager, Peter Roe. No watering will take place on the flat track.

“I expect the ground on the chase and hurdle courses to be good, good to firm in places’’, said Roe.