Patrick Mullins is looking forward to taking on Handstands and Cheltenham winner Caldwell Potter with a couple of Closutton runner on retrieval missions at Aintree on Friday.
Mullins, son and assistant to his father Willie, rides Quai De Bourbon in the Huyton Asphalt Franny Blennerhassett Memorial Mildmay Novices’ Chase, with stable jockey Paul Townend electing to partner Dancing City.
Mullins feels the British-based pair could be hard to beat but certainly hasn’t given up hope on the team from Closutton.
He told Sporting Life: “Dancing City was very disappointing in Cheltenham. Now, maybe they just went a stride or two too slow for him. It (Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase) did turn into a bit of a sprint and he’s not a fast horse. So I imagine Paul might be a bit more forceful on him this time.
“He obviously backed up into Aintree last year, having got beaten in Cheltenham as well, so maybe he’s just not as good at Cheltenham. That could be a possibility too.
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