Poniros progressing towards racecourse return

Surprise Triumph Hurdle winner Poniros will return to action in the latter half of the season as both Flat and hurdle starts are pencilled into his diary for 2026.

The Tony Bloom-owned four-year-old had a respectable record on the level when he left Ralph Beckett’s yard for the Willie Mullins stable, and subsequently stunned the Cheltenham Festival crowd in March when winning the Triumph on his hurdling debut at 100-1.

He was then the runner-up in the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle as Lulamba reversed the form at Punchestown, after which he finished 17th in the Ascot Stakes in a mixed-code season that will be replicated when his career resumes.

“He’s doing great, he just didn’t summer that well at grass and was a horse that didn’t put on a lot of weight,” said Sean Graham, racing manager to Bloom.

“We’ve been slow bringing him along but he’s been doing very well since he’s been back with Willie.

“Like a lot of juveniles from last year, he won’t run until after Christmas. There are not too many races for his age group and you can end up running in handicaps giving weight to older, stronger horses.

“We don’t want to go to the well with him too many times and put him under pressure, we’d rather give him time and let him mature.

“It will be a case of a couple of runs over hurdles and then a Flat campaign. His handicap mark is 91 on the Flat so I’m sure we could take advantage of that somewhere along the line.”