Bon Viveur should be hard to stop at Tramore
BACK FOR MORE: A narrow winner of a Tramore bumper last month, Barra Rua can get off the mark over hurdles at the Wateford venue on Tuesday. Picture: Healy Racing
The once-raced, Willie Mullins-trained Bon Viveur should be tough to beat in the 2026 Annual Badge At Tramore Maiden Hurdle which opens today’s seven-race card in Tramore.
A Flemensfirth gelding, he is owned by his trainer’s wife Jackie and will be ridden by their son Patrick as he bids to build on his debut effort in a Navan bumper last March.
Ridden on that occasion by Jody Townend, he found little in the closing stages and had to settle for third spot, beaten 23 lengths, behind Burrows Drive and Ma Jacks Hill.
Fourth place went to the Tom Cooper-trained Celestial Tune, winner of a recent listed bumper in Cheltenham.
It’s significant that the champion trainer is sending Bon Viveur straight over hurdles for his seasonal return and, fitted with a tongue-tie, he might have the edge over Cooper’s representative Kymer, who had been headed by Sticwithetheprocess when crashing at the final flight in a maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse three weeks ago.
Fresh from his Grade One heroics at the weekend, Paul Townend has one ride on today’s card, the Mullins-trained Mahon Falls in the New Years Discount Tickets Mares Maiden Hurdle.
Mahon Falls is no star but has prospects, receiving 9lb from the two bumper winners in the field, Barra Rua and Ill Raise A Glass.
Preference, however, is for the Emmet Mullins-trained Barra Rua, a narrow winner of a bumper here on her penultimate start and helped by the experience gained when finishing third to the potentially smart Echoing Silence in a similar maiden in Cork three weeks ago.
Fourth to Ma Jacks Hill in Gowran Park before bumping into the classy Amen Kate in Galway last month, the Ross O’Sullivan-trained Rainbow Connection makes plenty of appeal, despite top-weight, in the Karl Casey Outstanding Contribution Award 2025 Handicap Hurdle.
The Mount Nelson mare might prove well-treated off an initial mark of 99 and will be helped by the 7lb claim of Michael Kenneally.
Runner-up in her only point-to-point and two bumpers, the Gordon Elliott-trained Torpille Dagrostis (Aine O’Connor) should have every chance in the mares bumper while a market move for Notimelikedpresent, from the in-form yard of Robert Tyner, would be significant ahead of the Ladies Cove Handicap Chase.
12.05 Bon Viveur (Nap)
12.35 Barra Rua
1.05 Mo Ghille Mar
1.40 Rainbow Connection
2.15 Aclass
2.50 Notimelikedpresent
3.25 Torpille Dagrostis (NB)
12.05 Khmer
12.35 Mahon Falls
1.05 Cousin Kate
1.40 King’s Son
2.15 Mount Shenshan
2.50 Toor Moon
3.25 How’s Ellie
