WILLIE Mullins strengthened his hold on the Champion Hurdle ante-post market at the weekend, but it wasn’t Lossiemouth’s destruction of the Hatton’s Grace that we thought was interesting, writes Page Fuller.

While he still has a lot to prove, Anzadam’s performance in the Grade 3 WillowWarm Hurdle on Saturday stood out to us and we’re interested to see where he progresses from here.

It was his first start in the UK after landing two three-year-old hurdles in France last season, and he made easy work of some proven four-year-old rivals.

His turn of foot was electric, and he completed the final four furlongs in 51.79 seconds, which was quicker than any other horse over the two days at Fairyhouse.

Lossiemouth was the second quickest over the two days, but even she could only manage 52.59 seconds. Although that was still impressive, given she was running over half a mile further.

It will be interesting to see where Willie goes with him now, as he is likely to need to run again to get a handicap mark. This keeps him in open company, which we have already established puts him in a pretty competitive environment, but I believe that he is worth keeping an eye out for this season, as he looks pretty exciting.