Connections of The Reverend are aiming towards the Ebor having picked up an injury earlier on in the spring.
The Lope De Vega gelding switched to Willie Mullins from William Haggas. He made a winning hurdles debut at Cork in January. He was still moving well when unseating Harry Cobden at Leopardstown next time out, but hasn’t been seen since.
The Reverend was a progressive horse on the flat for Haggas, winning three times all in feature handicaps. Latterly, he picked up the Old Borough Handicap at Haydock and the Ebor is now on the agenda for connections.
Speaking to At The Races, part-owner Tony Bloom’s racing manager Sean Graham said: “He had a crack in his pelvis the week before Cheltenham and he was lame for a few days. But the vets could just not find anything wrong with him. It wasn’t obvious until we got the scans back and it showed a hairline fracture of the pelvis.
“It wasn’t displaced which means the pelvis hadn’t moved, which is a good thing. He had plenty of box rest and was then on the walker for five or six weeks. He will be due to start training again soon.
“He’s a horse who doesn’t take much getting ready and he’s not a huge, big horse. We’re hopeful he might get back for the Ebor.”
Despite showing an aptitude for hurdling, Graham poured cold water over the idea he’ll revert to obstacles as he said: “We have to think going forward whether we persevere with hurdles or just keep him as a Flat horse. He’s rated 105 and is probably too good a horse to take a risk with. Especially when you consider the prize-money that is available for those top middle-distance handicaps on the Flat.”
Champion Hurdle the aim for Poniros
Sean Graham also provided an update on Willie Mullins’ Poniros, who hasn’t quite backed up his shock Triumph Hurdle success in 2025.
Graham added: “Poniros got a leg infection after the Champion Hurdle and at one stage the vets were quite worried about him. But he’s made a proper recovery and he’s out at grass now.
“We thought he might be a nice dual-purpose performer as he’s only rated 91 on the Flat. But we’ll just keep him for hurdles next season now.
“He will probably be aimed at the Champion Hurdle again and we know he has a bit to find in that division. But the good thing about him is, even if he just has two or three runs over hurdles next season we can always keep an eye on going back on the the Flat over the summer.”