Patrick Mullins warns Anzadam doesn't face an entirely straightforward task in Sunday's Naas Racecourse Business Club Limestone Lad Hurdle.
The five-year-old won both his starts in France as a juvenile but was having his first run for the Closutton team when running out an impressive winner at Fairyhouse in December.
It was a performance that earned Unibet Champion Hurdle quotes and while he faces only two rivals this weekend Mullins said: “It was a pleasant surprise what he did the first day. At home he’s a hardy ride, he wears a hood and he was entered across the water but on only his second run for us we were looking for a smaller step up.
“The Limestone Lad provides that and while it has cut up, Beacon Edge brings a fair level of form to it and I’d be wary of the bottom horse, Laafi, who was nearly rated 100 on the Flat and won very well first time out beating a couple of fancied horses with the right owners and trainers.
“So it might not be as much of a penalty kick as it might appear to some people but we’ll be disappointed if he is beaten. We’re hoping he can make up into a Champion Hurdle horse but it’s a big ask for him, he’s having to learn to do things very quickly. This is only his second run in Ireland for us.”
