Impaire Et Passe set to test Festival credentials at Punchestown

Willie Mullins’ French import won by 18-lengths on Irish debut.

Willie Mullins will test runaway maiden winner Impaire Et Passe among Grade Two company in the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle at Punchestown on Sunday.

The five-year-old joined the Mullins stable with a six-length French bumper win under his belt and made his debut over hurdles in a Naas maiden shortly before Christmas.

Carrying the double green silks of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, he was a leisurely 18-length victor from a busy field that included 23 rivals.

A step up in class now follows in the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle, a race Mullins has historically dominated with horses such as Vautour, Douvan, Min and most recently Dysart Dynamo.

“I think Impaire Et Passe is the obvious candidate for the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle,” said Patrick Mullins, assistant to his father.

“He is a big scopey horse who won well at Naas the last day.

“He had been working well at home going to Naas but certainly nothing like what he showed that day and that surpassed our expectations.”

The Mullins stable have a second entrant in the race in the shape of Tax For Max, a more experienced six-year-old who will represent the same owners.

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