With less than four weeks remaining until Cheltenham, Willie Mullins is moving gingerly. If any of his festival team moved with such discomfort, they might struggle to make it. But since timing his run for National Hunt racing’s most important meeting has helped Mullins dominate it like no one else, it seems likely that all concerned will make it there hale and hearty.
Facing a media pack in Wednesday’s annual ritual en route to next month’s extravaganza is probably not the best remedy for a troublesome back. But there was surely relief from mounting evidence that yet another outstanding festival team is being assembled from what has been a comparatively underwhelming season up to now for jump racing’s dominant figure.
A dramatic dip in stable form prior to Christmas was the most glaring example. It has helped Gordon Elliott establish a sizeable lead in Ireland’s trainers’ championship. For once, ante-post betting doesn’t present a list of overwhelming odds-on Mullins favourites. There’s even talk of it being the most competitive Cheltenham in years.
Not for the first time, though, appearances might ultimately prove deceptive.
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A cursory look at those betting lists still shows how Mullins trains the ante-post favourite in 11 of the 28 festival races. They include the market leaders in the Gold Cup and Champion Chase, Fact To File and Majborough. Lossiemouth might yet find herself a leading player in the Champion Hurdle. Kopek Des Bordes (Arkle) is among a long list of outstanding young talents.
It’s why Mullins is an all-but unbackable favourite to be leading trainer for a 12th time and expand his record tally of 113 festival winners. There were 10 last year. His jockey Paul Townend is also odds-on to be top rider. Only those who haven’t paid attention to his capacity for timing the festival countdown to perfection will confidently go against the bookies’ opinion.
As per usual, that timing is likely to go down to the wire. Mullins doesn’t make final decisions until he must. Perhaps the two most important revolve around whether, or not, JP McManus will supplement Fact To File into the Gold Cup or if Gaelic Warrior switches from a tilt at the Blue Riband to running in the previous day’s Ryanair Chase.
Characteristically, Mullins played a straight bat on Wednesday. Reading the runes on his running plans can be a thankless task. But his view that Gaelic Warrior’s freewheeling second to Fact To File at the Dublin Racing Festival earlier this month looked a perfect Ryanair trial might prove significant.
As for Fact To File, he commented: “It’s not like JP is an ordinary owner. He has so many horses, including Spillane’s Tower, who can run in the Gold Cup with a live chance and still keep Fact To File in the Ryanair.
“He’s been in the game longer than any of us and has seen the ups and downs, so I’m going to respect whatever he says to me. We haven’t really spoken about it and I don’t think there’s any need at this stage.
“A lot will depend on what horses are going to turn up. I’m just going to get him ready for Cheltenham and if he wants to supplement him for the Champion Chase, I’d say he could run in that.”
That the veteran Galopin Des Champs – perhaps Ireland’s outstanding chaser of the modern era – is a potential Mullins third-string in the Gold Cup reflects what remains unmatched strength-in-depth in a single operation. After a pair of defeats around Leopardstown this winter, his trainer is considering putting cheek-pieces on Galopin Des Champs at the festival. A combination of that and very soft ground could make him difficult for Paul Townend to overlook.
Whether Lossiemouth tries for the Champion Hurdle or bids for a Mares hat-trick is another late call.
“A lot will depend on how the mare is herself,” he said. “Definitely, the form she was in the other day (at the Dublin Racing Festival), I don’t think it would cut the mustard there and she might be better off going for the Mares’ in that sort of form, but we shall see."
More definite takeaways were the regard Mullins has for his Triumph Hurdle favourite Narciso Has, and Love Sign d’Aunou, who tops the betting for a Champion Bumper the trainer has won 14 times. King Rasko Grey emerged third behind Talk The Talk and Ballyfad at the Dublin Racing Festival, but his trainer anticipates real fitness progress considering the Supreme prospect looked “like a mare in foal” that day.
Ultimately, nothing has changed about how getting it right for the four days at Cheltenham mostly defines the jumps season. Mullins admitted to being disappointed at “how slow we were getting into gear” this season and pointed to the ubiquitous wet weather as a contributory factor. It means nothing is being taken for granted.
“I’m happy enough. I’ve been further forward in other years. A few of the horses just haven’t sparked yet but I think I’ll have them right by the time we get to Cheltenham,” he said before contemplating the annual stressful build-up.
“I have to enjoy it, but as much as I enjoy it you dread it as well because you’re wondering every morning when you come out is there going to be this horse injured or that horse injured and you’re hoping to God that it’s not one of the Grade A horses.
“But there are injuries, like any time if you manage a football team or a hurling team, you’re always going to get injuries – you hope it’s not your star player. That’s our big dread, that it’s not our star player.
“It’s fun getting ready but it’s a dread too. People say pressure is for tyres but that’s a load of bo****ks.” Mullins joked, bad back and all.
