WILLIE'S MAJOR PLAYER

THE exciting Majborough, beaten only once over fences, will be expected to prove best in a small but select field for the Grade 2 Bar 1 Betting Hilly Way Chase in Cork tomorrow.

- BY PETER O'HEHIR

The Willie Mullins-trained gelding, still only six, lost his untarnished chase record when his jumping let him down in the Arkle at Cheltenham - a number of mistakes, most notably at the second last and last, cost him that day, finishing a close third behind Jango Baie - beaten less than a length.

Majborough, winner of the Triumph in 2024 and successful on his fencing bow at Fairyhouse, had prefaced his odds-on defeat at Cheltenham with a clear-cut victory over Touch Me Not in the Irish Arkle at Leopardstown in February, when his jumping was sketchy at times.