Mahler Mission out for the season

Trainer John McConnell was preparing the eight-year-old, who was second in the Coral Gold Cup last season, to make his seasonal debut but an injury has put him out of action until next term.

“He’s very well in himself, he was never actually lame but a little bit of heat came into one of his legs,” said McConnell.

“There was an issue with a suspensory, so we just have to back off him for the foreseeable future.

“We’re hoping to get him back next year, he’ll be back as a nine-year-old hopefully.”

McConnell was in a positive moos about Heads Up, who won a Punchestown bumper by a runaway 24 lengths at the weekend on his third start.

“He’s great after the win, plans are still fluid with him and I will talk to the owner about what we want to do next,” the trainer said.

“He will have to step up again if he’s going to stay in bumpers, but he’s only a four-year-old so we have the whole of next season to go hurdling as a five-year-old.

“The plan was always to win a bumper and then try him in a decent one somewhere in the spring, it took me a while longer to win one then I thought but we’ll probably stick to that now.”