Shock 100/1 Triumph Hurdle winner Poniros is all set to make his seasonal reappearance at Cheltenham or Leopardstown in a few weeks' time.
Willie Mullins' five-year-old has not been seen since running down the field at Royal Ascot in June after he had stunned the jumps racing world by winning the Triumph at the Cheltenham Festival on hurdling debut last March.
The Tony Bloom-owned horse couldn't confirm the form with Lulamba at Punchestown after that but was only beaten four lengths and all eyes are now on his hurdling return with the Unibet International Hurdle at Cheltenham on January 24 or the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown on February 1 pencilled in for his return.
Sean Graham, Racing Manager to Bloom, said on the Nick Luck Daily Podcast: "He’ll be entered in the International Hurdle at Cheltenham and the Irish Champion Hurdle the following week at Leopardstown.
"The plan is to run him in one of those races and no decision has been made yet on which one.
"Going back over the years, if you look at the four-year-olds, if they run before Christmas, they all seem very badly treated if they run in handicaps and the extra couple of months that Willie gives them definitely helps.
"He's fine and he's working well, he’s grown a bit and put on a bit of weight. Whether he's a genuine Champion Hurdle contender, it's very difficult for a juvenile to win a Champion Hurdle the following year, not too many of them do it.
"But he beat Lulamba at Cheltenham albeit a bit lucky maybe, but then he was only beaten four lengths by him at Punchestown, and when you look at what Lulamba has done since he looks very special indeed.
"Poniros is completely unexposed over hurdles, he’s only had two runs and he’s with a master trainer, so anything is possible."
Poniros is a general 66/1 for the Unibet Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Bloom also has a promising novice hurdler in his colours in the shape of The Reverend, trained by William Haggas on the Flat, who came through his hurdling/stable debut with a good win at Cork on January 3.
"Looking at the race on paper, it was very winnable," Graham said.
"It was his first time jumping hurdles, Paul [Townend] was very complimentary about him and he’s clearly got an engine. I think he did what was expected of him.
"He has entries in both the novice hurdles at the Dublin Racing Festival, the two-mile and the two-and-a-half miles.
"I'd probably be leaning towards the two miles, but I think it will depend on what Willie has to run."
Finally, Bloom's 12-year-old former star Energumene was handed a Ryanair Chase entry this week and connections are looking at exploring a longer trip with the 2023 Queen Mother Champion Chase winner.
Graham said: "He showed all his sparkle [at Cork] which suggests there’s still a decent race in him somewhere.
"The plan was we try him over 2m4f. The Kinloch Brae Chase at Thurles in a few weeks time has been mooted as a possibility, but we wouldn’t want to run him unless the ground was soft.
"The Red Mills Chase at Gowran is another possibility, we’ll find something for him anyway."
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