Cheltenham Festival: Paul Nolan hopes Mrs Milner can bounce back

Mrs Milner will bid to put a Newbury disappointment behind her when she lines up for the Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

The Paul Nolan-trained mare was a five-length winner of the Pertemps Network Final Hurdle at the showpiece fixture last season, triumphing at 12-1 under Bryan Cooper in the 22-runner handicap.

This term she began her campaign at Limerick in the Listed Cailin Alainn Mares Hurdle, a race she won by a length and a half having started as the evens favourite.

After that performance Nolan sent Mrs Milner across the Irish Sea to contest the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, a three-mile event in which she took on five rivals and finished fourth when reported to be out of sorts by Cooper.

A step down in trip is now on the agenda as the seven-year-old is set to take up an engagement in the Grade One Mares’ Hurdle on the opening afternoon.

"She’s run twice at Cheltenham and she was second and then won, we’ve freshened her up since Newbury and we’re hoping we’ll see a different mare in Cheltenham," said Nolan.

"At Newbury I don’t think at any stage of the whole race Bryan was really happy with her, normally she’d run to the line and that day she didn’t.

"A lot of the horses didn’t, it was a funny sort of race as they went quite quick.

"It was just one of those things, I think she was a bit flat.

"Bryan wasn’t happy with her at any point and that’s what we’re putting it down to, hopefully she can rectify that."

The Cheltenham contest is run over two and a half miles – half a mile less than the Pertemps but a trip Nolan is hoping will be made more stamina-sapping if ground conditions come in her favour.

"She improved with the step up in trip for the Pertemps last year, now we’re going back in trip and