Sadlers goes straight to Cheltenham

Sadlers Wings, a 25-1 shot for the Smurfit Champion Hurdle on March 14, will head straight to the Cheltenham Festival.

Trainer Willie Mullins had been considering this weekend’s Red Mills Trial at Gowran Park but decided not to enter the eight-year-old, who finished a promising fourth in last month’s AIG Europe Irish Champion Hurdle.

“I didn’t want to run him on Saturday as he’s going to have a busy second-half season,” Mullins told the Racing Post.