Faugheen being pushed towards chasing for new season

Trainer Willie Mullins says he’s keen to send Faugheen chasing this season and is optimistic of a smooth transition to bigger obstacles. The 11-year-old endured a frustrating 2018/19 National Hunt campaign after he failed to win any of his four starts, coming home third in the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival before being pulled up in the Aintree Hurdle on his most recent appearance in April. The 2015 Champion Hurdle winner looks set for a fresh challenge this term, with Mullins keen to finally pull the trigger on him going chasing, having put off the move away from hurdles previously. Mullins told attheraces.com: “We gave him a break over the summer and he seems back in great order. We have yet to sit down and make a firm decision but I’d be keen to send him novice chasing. “We could have gone over fences with him last season but we decided not to. He would have loads of options in novice chases and I’d be interested to see how he gets on over them.” Faugheen isn’t the only member of Mullins stable that will embark on their novice chasing campaign, with Laurina, who finished fourth in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March, also poised to go over bigger obstacles. That was the mare’s first defeat and the Closutton handler is expecting to see her back in the winners’ enclosure soon despite the switch in discipline. “We’ve been very happy with her schooling over fences to date, she makes a very good shape over them,” he added. “She is a much more mentally mature mare now than she was in her early days with me and she seems to be getting better all the time.”