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Bigmartre in Punchestown mix

Clondaw Cian ridden by Tom O'Brien (right) wins the Patrick Your 2 Weeks Late Murphy Novices' Hurdle at Fontwell from Bigmartre.
Image: Bigmartre (left): Pleased his trainer at Cheltenham

Trainer Harry Whittington is considering running Bigmartre at next month's Punchestown Festival.

The seven-year-old found the step up to the top table beyond him at the Cheltenham Festival when finishing down the field in the JLT Novices' Chase and could now revert to handicap company at the big meeting in Ireland.

Whittington said: "I was really pleased with his performance at Cheltenham as he put it all in and jumped fantastically. I said he would turn up and run his race and he did.

"He probably didn't quite stay the trip, he probably doesn't quite have that class at Grade One level and the third thing was that ground was soft enough for him.

"We are going to keep him on the go and we might think about sending him over to Punchestown for one of those valuable handicaps there.

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"He is a battle-hardened horse and hopefully he will be able to run in races like the Grand Annual next season. He will be a great handicap chaser going forward."

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