Travino set for Moriarty test
The 10-year-old was a Grade One winner as a novice hurdler but was off the track for well over two years after suffering a number of leg problems.
He ran third on his chasing debut at Leopardstown on his long-awaited return and while he is also engaged at Naas on Saturday, Mullins is leading towards Sunday’s Grade One contest for his next outing.
“I’m not certain where he’ll go yet but the owner wants to go to Leopardstown so we’ll probably go there all being well,” said Mullins.
“He jumped round there well the last day when he would have really needed the run so hopefully he will run well. It’s day to day with him anyway because of all the leg trouble he has had but he’s very well.
“He ran a great race last time as I was worried beforehand whether he would be OK and I wasn’t sure how ready I had him.
“He came out of it great though and while we have another three or four days to go before the race, we are keeping our fingers crossed.”
Mullins has not ruled out a trip to the Cheltenham Festival for her stable star, although she would like to see him run well this weekend first.
“If we get through the weekend it will be great and we can start making plans after that,” Mullins continued. “If the ground was fast at Cheltenham he wouldn’t go but if the ground was OK and he was placed at the weekend, we might look at it.
“His work has been good but he has always only done what he has to do. I used to have Massini’s Maguire here before he went to Philip Hobbs and when the two of them worked together, there wasn’t a lot between them.
“It was great to see him run so well at Sandown and hopefully Travino can prove he is still on a par with him.”
