Mourad

Mourad put in a nice performance to finish second in a 10-furlong contest at Dundalk on Wednesday evening. Settled nicely just behind the leaders, Willie Mullins’s gelding made nice progress to take it up, travelling well, at the two-furlong pole. He had all his rivals on the stretch when Paul Townend kicked him on and went for home, but Funatfuntasia had been travelling just as well for Billy Lee in behind, and Mourad had no answer to his finishing kick, going down by a neck in the end, with Monteriggioni the same distance back in third. Nevertheless, this was still a good run from Mourad on his first run since he finished fourth in the Prix Alain du Breil at Auteuil in June, against rivals who were hard race-fit from racing on the flat all autumn, and it should set him up for this season now over hurdles. A member of what is looking increasingly like a high class bunch of juvenile hurdlers last season, he ran a cracker in the Triumph Hurdle, keeping on well to finish third behind Zaynar and Walkon and in front of Starluck. He will be interesting when he is returned to hurdles.

25th November 2009