Briar Hill likely to be upped in trip for Festival

Briar Hill appears likely to go up in trip when he returns to the Cheltenham Festival in March following his rather workmanlike victory in the Slaney Novice Hurdle at Naas yesterday.

Impressive in last year’s Champion Bumper, the Willie Mullins-trained six-year-old predictably bolted up on his hurdling debut at Wexford in November.

The imposing gelding found things a little tougher before eventually seeing off sole rival Azorian in last month’s Navan Novice Hurdle, but he was a 1-3 favourite to make it three from three in this Grade Two.