Bambino Fever - suffered shock defeat

Bambino Fever suffers shock defeat on hurdling debut at Naas

By Sporting Life

Horse Racing

Mon December 15, 2025 · 2M ago

Bambino Fever suffered a shock defeat on her hurdling debut at Naas to continue a frustrating run for the Willie Mullins team.

Her reverse at odds of 1/4 in the Care At Home Services Mares Maiden Hurdle prolonged a blank few days for the Closutton stable, although last year’s leading bumper performer did shape with plenty of promise.

Travelling strongly under Paul Townend, she tracked the leader Oldschool Outlaw going to the last, but it was soon clear she had a real fight on her hooves.

The jockey quickly got serious after the final flight but the Gordon Elliott-trained winner wasn’t for catching under Jack Kennedy, the 3/1 chance holding Bambino Fever off by half-a-length.

Sky Bet and Paddy Power left the runner-up unchanged as their 7/2 favourite for the Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham in March and cut the winner to 6/1 from 33s.

In contrast to his rival Mullins, Oldschool Outlaw's trainer Elliott has been having a good run in recent days and this victory completed a treble on the card for his team following the earlier victories of Prends Garde A Toi and Open Secret.