'Maughreen is a fine big mare and has been doing some nice work at home' - Faugheen lookalike makes Punchestown debut

Maughreen, who is the spit of the mighty machine Faugheen, makes her eagerly awaited debut at Punchestown on Monday and Patrick Mullins is hoping she can live up to the hype in the concluding 2m mares' bumper (4.00). 

The daughter of Walk In The Park is a sister to the smart Tom Lacey-trained Blow Your Ward and her dam Mally's Mate is an unraced half-sister to Champion Hurdle winner Faugheen, who won his first ten races. 

Maughreen has inherited a similar face to Faugheen with a white stripe down the centre and has been showing all the right signs at home according to the record-breaking champion amateur. 

Mullins said: "Maughreen is a fine big mare and her markings are very, very similar to Faugheen. Her name obviously has similarities too. She's done some nice work at home and we're expecting a big run from her. I'm looking forward to it.

"Faugheen won his debut at Punchestown too in a bumper. It was a different time of year, but hopefully she can follow in his footsteps and get off the mark at the first time of asking as well."

The mares' bumper was won by Relegate in 2018 and she went on to land the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham two months later under Katie Walsh at odds of 25-1. 

Maughreen is owned by the Closutton Racing Club and is expected to be odds-on to make a winning debut. She faces 13 rivals, with her biggest danger liklely to be the Gordon Elliott-trained Instant Tendance, who will be having her fifth start.

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