Ebaziyan to be tried against the best

Ebaziyan’s smooth success in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham looks to have earned him the chance to prove his mettle against the elite two-milers next season.

Sublimity lifted this season’s Champion Hurdle having finished fourth in the 2006 Supreme Novices’, and Mullins believes his charge has further scope for improvement over timber.

“I imagine we’ll probably try him in the top two-mile races over hurdles,” explained handler Willie Mullins.

“He has a real good pedigree and he can still improve his jumping a lot so there’s a lot of nice races to look forward to.”

Despite being sent off a relatively-unconsidered 40-1 chance in the traditional Festival curtain-raiser last Tuesday, connections say they have always held the grey in high regard.

“I had faith in him but he didn’t make it over to Cheltenham last year and it was certainly a surprise to see him do it like he did. However, when we bought the horse I thought he was capable of that.

“He’d only run twice for us and won and been beaten a short head in second and I knew he had the engine but we just hadn’t run him enough times to know.

“He seems fine and there’s not a bother on him. Hopefully he’ll go to Punchestown now – I might enter him at Aintree too but I think Punchestown is what we’ll do.”