Klassical Dream bounced back to form on his first appearance in 487 days to win the Champion Stayers Hurdle at Punchestown.

Willie Mullins’ charge missed over a year of action after suffering a leg infection before Cheltenham Festival in 2020.

The injury kept the bay gelding from competing over the course of the 2020/21 National Hunt campaign, including a return to Cheltenham for the 2021 Festival.

Image Source: Pixabay

However, Mullins opted to place his charge back into the fray for the contest at the end of April. He delivered an emphatic performance with Patrick Mullins in the saddle, raising the possibility for a re-emergence in the 2021/22 season. Due to the quality of his display at Punchestown, Klassical Dream has been installed as one of the leading contenders for the Stayers’ Hurdle at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival in the horse racing betting odds.

The French thoroughbred has a strong history at the racecourse, having won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in the 2019 season. His form tailed off after the impressive victory, but there is certainly still a top-notch performer. After transferring into Mullins’ yard at the back end of 2018, Klassical Dream found his stride winning a Maiden Hurdle and the Chanelle Pharma Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown, defeating talented fields in the process.

As a result of his first two outings under the tuteluge of Mullins, the bay gelding’s odds were shortened for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, although he was still considered behind Fakir D’oudiaries in the reckoning for the crown. Ruby Walsh delivered an outstanding ride in the saddle, bringing out the best in the five-year-old to surge down the stretch to claim the victory by four-and-a-half lengths.

Klassical Dream carried that form into his final outing of the 2018/19 season, dominating at Punchestown in the Champion Novice Hurdle to end the season on a high note. He was expected to kick on in the following season, but it failed to come to fruition. In the opening race of the term, the French thoroughbred was beaten by his stable-mate Saldier in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown, despite being the favourite for the event. He was further off the pace in the Matheson Hurdle, finishing last at Leopardstown, behind Sharjah among others.

Klassical Dream’s performance may have been explained by his leg infection that ruled him out of the 2020 Cheltenham Festival. Given how long it has taken the bay gelding to return to competitive action, it may have been more serious than expected. Mullins was wise to take his time to ensure that the French thoroughbred was healthy before returning his charge to the fold. He was rewarded and may continue to reap the rewards in the future.

If Klassical Dream can return to his form from 2019 then Mullins could have a serious charge for the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham next year. He has not won the event since 2018 when Penhill was victorious. The seven-year-old’s performances will be worth monitoring and it would be a great story to see him return to the Festival taking his place in the winners’ circle once more.