Trainer Paul Hennessy is hopeful of a big run from his mare Heaven Help Us in the Coral Cup at Cheltenham.
The seven-year-old warmed up for the festival by winning a thrilling renewal of the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Paddy Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle last month.
Heaven Help Us had enough under the ride of Richard Condon to hold off Global Equity by a neck at the Dublin Racing Festival.
"She's been brilliant all the way through," Hennessy told Ger Gilroy and Johnny Ward on Friday Night Racing on Off The Ball.
"She's higher in the handicap and the Coral Cup is a better race, that's not taking anything from the race in Dublin.
"All our ducks lined up in the Dublin race, it was her first run in a handicap. On her best form when she was second to Abacadabras, we thought she had a chance.
"Richard Condon, who rode her, gave her a peach and took seven pounds off her so a lot of things were lining up for us at Leopardstown."
Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Having won the English, Scottish and Irish Derby as a greyhound trainer, Hennessy would love to see his horse racing stable star land a win at the Festival next Wednesday.
"She had decent form at Leopardstown but she has decent form at Cheltenham too. This is a different kettle of fish because it's a higher rated race.
"We only hoped she would get into the Coral Cup, she's rated 138 over there which is 12lb higher than she was in Dublin.
"That tells you the high standard of the race but two miles and five will bring out more improvement in her. I think she'll stay going at a steady pace, she's capable of doing that, she'll probably even run over three miles in time.
"It's exciting, it's wonderful to go over, she's fit, she's well and she's in good humour. Hopefully she'll run well and it'll be a big day out for us all."
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