CHAMP Kiely and Spillane’s Tower are the latest Grade 1 winners to return to action this weekend, as they line up in separate blacktype contests at Naas on Sunday.

Champ Kiely gained his first Grade 1 at this track as a novice hurdler and conquered the highest level over fences when last seen at the Punchestown Festival, beating stablemate Ballyburn in the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase.

Paul Townend will be reunited with the Willie Mullins’ nine-year-old in the Grade 3 Barberstown Castle Chase, while Danny Mullins gets the leg up on Ile Atlantique, a Grade 2 winner over course and distance in January.

Ahead of the pair’s seasonal return, Patrick Mullins commented: “We are delighted the rain has come and it gives us the opportunity to get these horses out. Paul Townend has gone with Champ Kiely as he is the dual Grade 1 winner, including one at Naas.

“He is obviously stepping down significantly in trip and he has to give weight away to everything so it is not going to be an easy task but it will blow the cobwebs away.

“I think this trip will suit Ile Atlantique well and he should give Danny a really good spin and go very close.”

Respected rivals

Champ Kiely and Ile Atlantique are set to carry 12 stone and 11st 10lb respectively, and Patrick Mullins recognises that Sunday’s select field of five remains ultra-competitive. “It will be difficult for both horses to give weight away to Inthepocket and Only By Night so it is a cracking race, a real proper race, and hopefully one of our two can come out on top.”

Henry de Bromhead’s lightly-raced eight-year-old Inthepocket is an intriguing contender, the pricey point-to-pointer having won a Grade 1 as a novice hurdler and impressed in a beginners’ chase, but endured an almost year-long gap between his chase debut at chase win, and has not been seen since January.

Only By Night enjoyed greater luck last term, winning her first three starts over fences, including a listed and Grade 2 chase. Gavin Cromwell’s mare proved an able rival for geldings in the Arkle Chase, when beaten just three parts of a length, and was last seen finishing second to Majborough on her second Grade 1 start.

The daughter of Affinisea was since purchased by Brian Acheson’s Robcour, and ahead of her first start in their colours, Gavin Cromwell told The Irish Field: “Her end goal will be the mares’ chase in Cheltenham, and this looks a nice starting place.

“With a mare on her kind of mark, you’re limited with where she can go. She’s not too bad in at the weights with everything else in the race, so hopefully she can run well.”

Back to hurdles

Only By Night’s stablemate Backtonormal was another to reach new heights over fences, landing a valuable Grade 3 at the Dublin Racing Festival when last seen.

The seven-year-old returns in the Listed SIS Brown Lad Handicap Hurdle – his first start over hurdles since winning the valuable at the 2024 Punchestown Festival.

“He’s back over hurdles from fences, but he has to start off somewhere,” Cromwell commented. “We actually didn’t really know what kind of a hurdling mark he had until after we entered him in that.

“He hasn’t run since the DRF, but he’s a nice horse, and hopefully he can do something on his mark, but it is high. I’d say we’ll see how it goes this weekend, but he will probably will go chasing sooner rather than later.”

The field of 14 features what many would describe as the best handicapped hurdler in the country, as Jimmy Mangan’s dual Grade 1-winning chaser Spillane’s Tower lines up off a rating of 130.

Rated 163 over fences, J.P. and Noreen McManus’ homebred has some decent form from just five starts over hurdles. Fifth on his first attempt, he was beaten a head next time and went on to beat 22 rivals in a Naas maiden hurdle.

He fell at the first flight when sent off 11/4 for a Grade B handicap hurdle at Cork and subsequently finished second to a graded horse at the 2023 Punchestown Festival, which was his last start over hurdles.