Former Grade 1 winning Irish point-to-point export Next Destination has crossed the Irish Sea and is now based with Paul Nicholls ahead of a novice chase campaign.
A Quakerstown four-year-old maiden winner for John Costello, the son of Dubai Destination is a two-time winning Grade 1 novice hurdler for Willie Mullins, however he has not been seen competitively since the second of those two successes at the highest level which came when defeating Delta Work in the Irish Daily Mirror novice hurdle at the 2018 Punchestown Festival.
Writing in his Betfair blog, the multiple champion trainer wrote: “another new arrival from Eire is Malcolm Denmark’s Next Destination, a talented horse who has had one or two issues and will be going novice chasing if all goes well.”
What a difference a day makes - Next Destination wins the Grade 1 Irish Daily Mirror Novice Hurdle for Paul Townend and Willie Mullins: pic.twitter.com/Ux9yUtxLue
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) April 25, 2018
Nicholls also indicated that another of the star former Irish Pointers that he has under his care, Topofthegame, is nearing a return to competitive action.
A four-year-old maiden winner at Belclare for Donnchadh Doyle, he had started off last season as one of the leading contenders for the Cheltenham Gold Cup following his 2019 success in the Grade 1 RSA Chase at the Festival, however a minor leg injury last September saw the Flemensfirth gelding spend the season on the side-lines.
The Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury in November has been put forward by Nicholls as the first big target that he is being aimed at.
