Faugheen doppelgänger, Maughreen, impresses in home workouts and gears up for debut at Punchestown

The daughter of Walk In The Park is a sister to the smart Tom Lacey-trained Blow Your Ward. Her dam, Mally’s Mate, is an unraced half-sister to Champion Hurdle winner Faugheen, who had a great record of winning his first ten races. Maughreen, the daughter, has inherited a similar face to Faugheen, with a white stripe down the centre. The champion amateur has stated that Maughreen has been showing all the right signs at home. Mullins, Maughreen’s trainer, mentioned that she is a fine big mare with very similar markings to Faugheen. He is expecting a big run from her and is looking forward to it. Faugheen won his debut at Punchestown too, and Mullins hopes Maughreen can follow in his footsteps and make a successful debut as well.

The mares’ bumper race in 2018 was won by Relegate, who went on to win the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham two months later, under Katie Walsh, at odds of 25-1. Maughreen, owned by the Closutton Racing Club, is expected to be the favorite to win her debut. She will be facing 13 rivals, with the biggest challenge likely to come from Instant Tendance, trained by Gordon Elliott, who will be making her fifth start.