Tommie Beau may dodge next Cheltenham cross-country challenge

The 100/30 favourite in a field of nine was going well when he went the wrong side of an opening in a rail and had to be pulled up by jockey Michael Nolan.

Nolan was given a 12-day suspension for his error.

“They both looked to be enjoying themselves, that’s for sure, it was just one of those things,” said Mullins.

“When you enter those races, you know they are different, you have to accept that things can go wrong as they are not straightforward.

“I’m a believer that if the horse is OK and the rider is OK, then it’s just jump racing.

“There are positives and he’s come out of the race fine, it’s a missed opportunity, but never mind.”

Tommie Beau now has some other options elsewhere on home turf and in France rather than head for more cross-country action at Cheltenham.

“Possibly not, we’re looking at going to France and to the London Grand National at Sandown next,” Mullins said of the prospect of taking on Cheltenham’s cross-country track again.

“We may stick an entry in at the December meeting for the cross country, but I anticipate that it will be a lot stronger race.

“There’s a race at Pau in February that we might look at, whether we go back for the Festival or not would be debatable.

“It’s not necessarily the owner’s cup of tea or mine, that race at the Festival, everything’s up in air with that and I wouldn’t say he’d be a definite runner in the cross country at Cheltenham again this season.”