Willie Mullins, the leading trainer in the history of the Cheltenham Festival, reveals his fondest memories from over the years.
What is your first recollection of the Cheltenham Festival?
I'd imagine like most people of my age it is Arkle winning his Gold Cups. Talking to some older people they said that really brought Cheltenham to the fore as a national sport. We always think of Cheltenham as we know it to be, but older people tell me Arkle brought Cheltenham up to where it is today.
What is your fondest memory of the Cheltenham Festival before you started training?
It would have to be my father training Dawn Run to win the Champion Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup, which had never been done before and has never been repeated. We had a tremendous time in the Dawn Run era. I'd love to have a horse to do that, but I think it's unique and I'm delighted my father did that.
What is the best performance you have seen at the Cheltenham Festival?
I'm a bit biased but I'll say Vautour winning the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. He's a horse we never saw what he could have been. I thought he was special.
Which victory at the Cheltenham Festival meant the most to you?
This is a hard question to answer, but legging my son Patrick up to win the Champion Bumper on Cousin Vinny was very special.
What was your best ever day at the Cheltenham Festival?
Dawn Run's Gold Cup win was special. To be there on the day and see your father's mare winning a Gold Cup and being the only horse to do the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup double.
Leaving aside the last-flight fallers, whose defeat at the Cheltenham Festival was most frustrating?
There are probably too many to mention, but that's part and parcel of the game. You lose some and win others when other people are unlucky. Probably the one that was most confusing was Hurricane Fly's second run in the Champion when he was placed. That was a little bit disappointing.
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Are there any horses who, with hindsight, you wish you had run in a different race?
If I remembered all those things I'd be pulling my hair out! I tend not to ever get obsessive about that kind of thing because so much of that goes on. Others can remember even if it was 35 years ago, but I don't. To me, I'm looking forward and whatever happened has happened. I say to my team that things are going to go wrong during the week but forget about it and we'll sort it out next week. We have so many horses and runners you need to look forward and not back.
Do you feel pressure in the build-up to Cheltenham and do you have any strategies to cope with it?
We're all getting used to the build up to Cheltenham and have been very lucky over the years to have the teams we've had going over. We're probably anaesthetised against it [the pressure] at the moment, we know what we have to do and go and do it. And we try to do it better every year. I remember when we had only one or two fancied runners going over how stressful it was trying to keep that one horse right all season. That's what most people's Cheltenham is about, so we're lucky enough to have so many to worry about. I won't say it's not a worry, but there are so many balls in the air that you're busy all the time, so maybe being busy keeps the stress away.
Which horse is your best chance of a winner this week?
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