Willie Mullins 2024 Cheltenham Festival Stable Tour
The leading trainer in Cheltenham Festival history provides an exclusive update on his remarkably strong team for the 2024 meeting.
NOVICE HURDLERS
He was disappointing at Christmas but came back at Punchestown and was very good. If connections want, we'll go to Cheltenham but otherwise we'll stay at home.
He's in both races but it looks like he'll probably go to the Supreme. His form is very good, he gets on well with young Thomas Costello, who will ride him, and I think is looking forward to the spin Asian Master will give him.
Even though it was only the winners' bumper he won at the Punchestown Festival, Dancing City and Slade Steel, two graded winners, were behind him, so that was a hot bumper. This fellow got beaten on his first start over hurdles and it was probably my fault as Paul [Townend] wanted different tactics but I said to drop him in as I was just afraid he'd been so keen but he settled well. He then came out at Christmas and Paul did what he wanted to do and he was also very forward on him at the DRF and he won very well. He has an engine and Paul has huge confidence in him. Looking at his pedigree it screams stamina and I'd have no problem going a longer trip with him, but the speed he shows on the track, he's very quick over his hurdles and can gallop at a huge speed from the outset and gallop horses into the ground. If Paul wants to settle him, he can do that and quicken off the pace as well. I'm not sure what way to go with him but he's got a lot of things you want in a horse - I'd say everything you want in a horse. He reminds me of Faugheen in the way he can gallop and jump. If he met a hurdle wrong, he'd just gallop right through it, he has that sort of attitude, he just puts the head down and goes at everything. He's very brave. This fellow has it all, I think.
He has nice form but I'm not sure he's Cheltenham material this year. He might be better off staying at home for Fairyhouse and Punchestown.
We tried to make the running with him in the Lawlor's of Naas but it didn't work out. He's probably a Baring Bingham type.
I've thought a good bit about him since I bought him. He had disappointed me a little bit but since we've extended his trip the reason I bought him is starting to show. I thought he was going to be a bit faster but he looks an out-and-out stayer - an Albert Bartlett type. He's going to be good each-way value.
He started off as a summer horse but he kept winning and going up in grade all the time. I decided to give him a break and asked David Casey, who does a lot of the race programmes for me, to find a nice staying race for him not at the Dublin Racing Festival as I didn't want to pitch him straight in there. He found a nice race at Thurles which High Class Hero won and confirmed he can match the winter horses. He's a live prospect for the Albert Bartlett.
I've had him marked as a Baring Bingham horse all season. He had to do the donkey work when Chapeau de Soleil missed the first couple of hurdles at Naas and that wasn't part of the plan. He then got robbed by Readin Tommy Wrong. I still think he's going to be a big runner in the Baring Bingham.
He won well next time out after finishing second to Asian Master. If we can we'll try to get him over there. He would look like a Baring Bingham horse to me.
He won nicely at Thurles on Thursday. I'm thinking we might keep him at home and go for some races at Fairyhouse and Punchestown. I often think that race takes a lot out of a horse if you're preparing them for Cheltenham and it's not a race we use as a prep for Cheltenham. It's usually a race we use for horses who might not be going to Cheltenham.
Connections would be keen to go to Cheltenham and he's entitled to go there. I'll have to have a word with the owners to see what their preferred option would be. He might be a hard horse to place with a winning chance but he's in good form.
He's a horse we've always thought a lot of. He won his bumper very impressively and then got struck into on his hurdling debut and missed a lot of time. He won nicely the other day and if he goes to Cheltenham it will be over a longer trip, maybe the Baring Bingham. He's going to make a nice novice chaser and has size and scope.
It was eye-opening what he did at Limerick. He was up there the whole way and when Kieran [Callaghan] set him alight he just went down over the last two hurdles like a real professional in really heavy ground. Most of the horses that came by the winning post that day had stopped by the time they had got to the gate of the stable yard but Kieran couldn't get a pull out of this fellow. He went all the way around the bend and it wasn't until he got to the next hurdle in the back straight that he got a chance to pull him up. That screams a real good horse to me. I don't know where he comes into it in the big scheme of things but he's quite entitled to go to the Supreme on that run. He's also in the Baring Bingham and we'll decide what we do nearer to the time.
He doesn't show me much at home at all. We brought him up to Ballinrobe for a bumper hoping to win, which he did, he then won over hurdles at Galway and when I upped him in grade in the Moscow Flyer he bolted in. He's a bit like his mother. When you consider Jim Bolger had Annie Power and didn't run her as a three-year-old she must not have been showing him any reason to run. She ended up running in a bumper and just kept on improving - he's probably the same. It's a bit like Quevega's foals who are all late maturing, which is no problem, you just have to have the patience to wait for them. He's in the Supreme and Baring Bingham. He has the pedigree to win at either distance and I'll be listening a lot to what Mark Walsh wants to do. Mark was very taken with him in his last bit of work before the Lawlor's of Naas which we had intended on running him in, but when that was cancelled we changed tack. I just thought he was brilliant in the Moscow Flyer over two miles. He was quite keen in that race which would mean we would maybe favour the Supreme as if Mark was a little afraid he might not be able to settle him in the Baring Bingham that would have a big bearing.
He goes for the Baring Bingham. He had a real sharp run at Christmas over two miles and also ran well over two and three-quarter miles at the Dublin Racing Festival.
He can go to either the Baring Bingham or Albert Bartlett. He would look possibly favourite or second favourite material for the Albert Bartlett on that win in the Lawlor's of Naas. But that win also puts him right in the Baring Bingham picture. There are a lot of other horses to look at and we’ll see which race might suit him. The Baring Bingham is going to be a tough race and while the Albert Bartlett is a hard race to win, on paper, it looks more achievable. He settles lovely in his races and I don't have a worry about his stamina.
He looks more of a staying type. He's a big, backward horse and will show us a lot more over fences next season, but he should give a good account of himself at Cheltenham.
He only has an entry in the Supreme and I'm sort of sorry now I didn't put him in one or two other races, but I remember at the time I was quite adamant saying he doesn't stay and he's not going to be entered in the Baring Bingham. Looking at his pedigree and the way he goes you'd probably say he could stay but I was so disappointed by his first run at Punchestown even if he did everything wrong that day and our horses weren't in the shape they are now. But I'm happy enough I made the right decision and will let him take his chance in the Supreme. We've got him jumping well. That's a task David Casey was deputised to do, and he's done a fantastic job with him. He's one of those horses who needs to jump two or three mornings a week before he runs. If you didn't school him for two weeks, it would be as if he'd forgotten everything. He just needs constant schooling and he'll get that, but I hate doing too much as there's always a risk of injury when you school horses. He's definitely in the picture for the Supreme as his bumper form is probably better than the others and the only blot on his copybook is his first run over hurdles, but I think I ran him over the wrong trip and he wasn't prepared properly. Now we know what to do with him it puts him right in the picture. I'm not considering supplementing him for another race - I often find when I make a decision like that so far out it's usually for the best.
He's good enough to go to Cheltenham but might be better off staying at home.
JUVENILE HURDLERS
He's a really nice horse we got from France but he's suffering from immaturity. I can't seem to get him right and he's probably one I'm going to have to keep for after Punchestown. The ball's not hopping the right way for him at the moment.
He works well at home. He was really disappointing at Fairyhouse but did things a little better at Leopardstown and is qualified for the Boodles. If he keeps making the same sort of progress I think he might have a good chance in that.
Tony Bloom has a nice horse in Bunting. I think he's going to improve with every run and he'll be entitled to take his chance in the Triumph.
He went into a lot of notebooks with his last run at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown. He completely disappointed us on his first start at Christmas and I don't know whether it was the testing ground but his work at home was fine. I gave different instructions for him the last day and he ran a way better race. I'd imagine he'll take his chance in the Triumph where he could be great each-way value.
Highwind and Storm Heart
Jumping let them down a little bit at the Dublin Racing Festival. We'll have to get David Casey on the case again and get him schooling those two! If they improved, they would have a chance, but the favourite, Sir Gino, looks like he will be hard to beat.
She won nicely at the Dublin Racing Festival and looks very good. Danny [Mullins] got a great tune out of her. He learned a lot the first day with her and put it to good use the second time. She goes for the Triumph and it's going to be a tough task for her the way Sir Gino performed, but she'll have the mares' allowance and, given all the knowledge Danny has picked up on her, she'll improve again I think.
Karia des Blaises and Miss Manzor
Both are qualified for the Boodles and I think they'll take their chance. Both horses improved dramatically from their first start to their second for us and let's hope they can do the same on the way to Cheltenham.
He's a promising sort. He missed his run at Christmas - he got a little nick schooling - and I'd have loved having that run under his belt going to the Dublin Racing Festival. Mark Walsh learned a lot on him and was very happy coming in at Leopardstown. With different tactics he's going to improve and if he does he might give the favourite most to do.
He's still in the Triumph Hurdle and I might still run him. He has given me little niggling problems all year. He's been in training all season, but little immaturity problems have stopped me getting a real good run with him. I might let him take his chance in a race like the Triumph or the Grade 1 at Punchestown as I think he'd be a fabulous novice next season as I don't see any point in winning a maiden now and wasting his novice season. When you look at the form of the favourite and then Salvator Mundi [who was second to Sir Gino in France] then you'd think he could be anything.
NOVICE CHASERS
Last year he didn't like Cheltenham. He sort of lost his race in the saddling enclosure and parade ring, and he wasn't great on the way to the start either. I'm going to have a think about bringing him and have a chat with Anthony O'Leary and family because I'm looking at the Ryanair Chase at Fairyhouse over two and a half miles. I think we need to dramatically change tactics on him whichever trip he goes, but he's a horse with a lot of ability and jumps so well. It's a hard decision.
He's a ready-made favourite for the National Hunt Chase. He loves galloping, he loves jumping and he's a real old-fashioned chaser. He settles well and I'm happy that the National Hunt Chase will be his target at this point in time.
I'm not sure I've had him right. He was sort of disappointing at Christmas and ran a better race at the DRF but I'm still not happy I have him where I want him. He's in the Arkle and in the Turners but I'm much happier with other horses at the moment and I'm undecided about this fellow. He's going to have to do some really good work between now and Cheltenham. I'm going to have to throw everything at him and if he's able to take it he'll take it, if not he might not appear.
He got beaten first time over fences by American Mike at a time when a lot of ours needed the run. He then went on to Leopardstown and won his beginners' chase and he won his next race easily back at Leopardstown when Gaelic Warrior misfired. He's another horse that has a lot of ability and when he won his point to point he beat a horse called Asian Master who I think is going to run a cracker at Cheltenham. He'll go for the Brown Advisory. He's a horse I put in the 'could be anything' brigade when he was second in the bumper at Cheltenham. I thought a lot of him all the time as a bumper horse and with his size and scope I decided to skip hurdling. Sometimes a horse grabs you when they come into the stable and that's what I thought with this fellow. I loved his ability, his attitude in the stable - he's so quiet - and when you have horses like that who transfer that attitude to racing it's very good as it means they relax and are going to stay. He's a lot easier to ride and is a push-button horse who you pull out and goes. I can't say enough about this fellow.
At the moment he's going to Cheltenham. What else can I do with him given the form he showed earlier in the season? He got upset at Leopardstown in the parade ring and on the way to the start he ran very free. Certainly, in the race he ran very free. He jumps well and it might have been a better decision had we run him in the Irish Arkle at Leopardstown to see how he would handle the trip. We think he's a sharp enough horse. I have no problem with him going the trip in the Turners but I think it's going to be about having the horse right on the day rather than where he goes. He just got upset the last day and we might need to change things. I haven't sat down with Paul yet and really discussed it but as we get nearer the time and have to make decisions we'll have a chat.
He was very good the other day when I brought him away schooling and was very happy with him. I think he could play a big part in the Arkle - he's improving all the time.
Danny has struck up a great relationship with Il Etait Temps, winning two Grade 1s on him, including the Irish Arkle. He's a horse that's improving. He wasn't a great jumper over hurdles but has way more respect for his fences. He goes to Cheltenham for the Arkle with a nice chance in what looks an open race.
He could go to Cheltenham but might be better off staying at home. I'll have a word with connections and see what they'd like to do.
He's in all the staying races at Cheltenham but is one I might keep at home. He's won twice around Fairyhouse and there are some nice prizes around there, so I'm more or less happy to keep him at home.
He could stay at home for the Ryanair Chase at Fairyhouse but he does run well at Cheltenham and the Arkle looks open enough so he could have a crack at that, but he'd also stay the two and a half of the Turners.
MARES’ RACES
She’ll go for the Mares’ Chase. She was very good at Naas the last day. We’d changed a few things at home with her and I think they worked. She was second in the Mares’ Chase last year and that was a big run. She could be better this year but she’ll have to take on Dinoblue. She’s a fine, big mare and as long as conditions suit her – as long as the ground isn’t too heavy for her, she’ll give Dinoblue a run for her money.
She's on course for the Mares' Hurdle and won nicely at Doncaster the last day. She's been improving through the season.
Going back to her run at the Grand Annual last season when she was only just beaten, she missed the last two fences which is quite uncharacteristic of her. She's a good jumper. I'd give her a great chance in the Mares' Chase. She's going up to two and a half miles and, while she's not gone that far before [over fences], she has plenty of stamina on the dam's side of her pedigree, so I don't have any worries about that. They'll be going that little bit slower too. She's been taking on the best in this country and dropping back into mares' company is going to be in her favour.
She won nicely at Exeter the last day but she got very upset at Cheltenham last season and I think I'm going to plan a programme at home with her. There's a lovely Grade 1 novice at Fairyhouse at Easter and I think that's going to be her target.
She was very disappointing at Punchestown. However, I think it might have been trainer error. She ran such a good race at Doncaster I felt she didn't need the work, but she might have gone to Punchestown a gallop short.
She's entitled to run in the Champion Hurdle or the Mares' Hurdle but she'll probably go for the Mares'. She's had her chance at Cheltenham before, but you'd be hoping she might be good enough to get into the places. This is a drop back in class for her and anything can happen.
She's by Doctor Dino - like State Man - and has won all three starts, an AQPS bumper in France, a maiden hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas and then we upped her hugely in grade in the Solerina and she won that quite easily. I don't think she's matured yet so to do what she's been doing has really surprised me as it's pure ability rather than strength. I hope she's going to be a much stronger mare next year. She's a lively candidate for the mares' novice hurdle. She's unremarkable at home, very cool in herself, and doesn't show lots of gears - we probably don't ask her - and it's the same for most of her races but then she switches on and that Doctor Dino speed comes in.
She was very good at Cheltenham in the International Hurdle. I've kept to a light campaign as sometimes those busy juveniles take a bit of time to recover. Looking at her performance the other day it should be onwards and upwards. I just felt that being a five-year-old I didn't want to go for the Champion Hurdle and am happier to take it in baby steps and possibly she'll be good enough next year to have a good crack at the Champion Hurdle. There's a nice engine there and hopefully we can mind it. The Mares' Hurdle isn't going to be a walkover by any means - there's some good opposition from England and one or two of her stablemates - but she's the one to beat.
She's a nice mare and did things nicely the last day at Fairyhouse, and I would have said she could have booked her ticket to Cheltenham. However, the Grade 1 novice is at Fairyhouse, and I love bringing horses back to where they win. It's yet to be decided but Fairyhouse could be a better option for her.
OPEN HORSES
It looks very unlikely that he will make Cheltenham as he has met with a setback. We will aim him for Punchestown.
He's in good shape, ran a cracker the last day and will have another crack at the hunter chase. He's had a much lighter preparation this time and we'll see if that works.
I wonder whether the trip in the Ryanair is a little short of his best but that's where he is. He put in a tremendous performance to win the Cotswold Chase last time. If he runs in the Ryanair it will leave him spot on for the Grand National at Aintree.
He's in the Ryanair, the Ultima and the Plate and I'd probably prefer to run him in the Ryanair. On his best day he'd be good enough, but he's disappointed once or twice lately.
He didn't impress me in the Hilly Way and then we were heading for the Clarence House which was switched so it suited us better to go for the Dublin Racing Festival and he put in a fantastic performance there. Looking at his pedigree - by Spanish Moon out of a Saints des Saints mare - you'd think he should want three miles, so it just shows how fast he's able to get through the air. His jumping ability means he's able to come back in trip and he's a very exciting ride for anyone sitting on him. He's a natural so fingers crossed he jumps well on the day.
He's been very good and we're looking forward to going back to Cheltenham. He's been doing most things right at home and just has a few final gallops now. My biggest worry going to Cheltenham last year was whether he'd be too keen and get involved in a battle, but Paul rode him away from the race really. I said to Paul going out that I think you're on the fastest horse and I think you'll stay, just keep a bit of powder dry. The Gold Cup is a race for stayers and is always run at a huge gallop and it was the same last year when Paul just landed him into the race. He was beaten in the Punchestown Gold Cup after Cheltenham and then in the John Durkan but I think we hadn't the right tactics with him. Paul was keen to change tactics, which we did in the Savills Chase and Irish Gold Cup, and he seems to be back on his game. I think he's enjoying himself a lot more [under positive tactics].
He's in the Stayers', which I had intended on running him in, and the Gold Cup. Now that I'm looking at Monkfish, who has had all his troubles, this could be his one chance to go really well in a Gold Cup and the ground looks like it's going to be nice and soft. If the ground stays right there's every chance we will let him take his chance in the Gold Cup. I was very happy with his run in the Galmoy as he did way more than I thought he could which shows me he's retained his ability, and he's still young enough to give a career-best performance.
We've stopped chasing with Sir Gerhard for the time being as it just didn't seem to suit him. He has an entry in the Stayers' Hurdle which I'm sure he's going to take up. Looking at the way he won the bumper at Cheltenham shows he handles the track, he'll stay and he jumps hurdles very well so he must go there with a very good chance.
He's doing everything right and I think he's doing everything better. He's only seven and I think he's improving and maturing. I thought his run at Christmas was the best of his life. A lot of people said his run at the DRF was better but I'm not sure as I think things fell too easily into his hands that day. It's going to be hard to overturn Constitution Hill but if I can keep him in the same sort of form and get a bit of improvement out of him, he'll hopefully give him a race.
He ran in a cross-country race at Punchestown and didn't excite me with how he jumped around there. However, Punchestown is more about banks and Cheltenham is a different style of cross country which I think will suit him better. The trip and type of fence will suit him, so I'd be keen for him to take his chance.
HANDICAPPERS
He's in the Ultima, the Plate and the Aintree National. He'll also be in the Topham as well. I'm not sure I'll go to Cheltenham with him, I'll probably head straight to Aintree.
He ran a cracker at the Dublin Racing Festival and I thought for a couple of strides turning for home he was going to do the business. I think he's very ground dependent. He has a chance of running in the Supreme but if the ground got drier later in the week, we might look at the County Hurdle for him. We'll see what rating he gets.
There's a big handicap in him. He was running well at the Dublin Racing Festival and was unlucky to be brought down. He's the sort of horse who could pitch up and maybe win a Galway Hurdle if things didn't work out for him in the spring.
Chavez is in the Ultima, the Plate and the Kim Muir. He could be a nice horse for the Kim Muir with his likely rating.
He was on my sales list at the end of last season, and we said we'd give him another chance. He's improved all season and I'd imagine looking at his profile he will head to Aintree rather than Cheltenham. He'll be in the Topham and he's in the National. We'll see how we feel as we approach Aintree.
He's our only horse who has qualified for the Pertemps. We've just sat on him until now and I just hope that without a prep run we can have him in the right shape going to Cheltenham. I'm hoping he'll be a big runner for us in the Pertemps. He looks great at home in training and I'm very happy with him.
He'll be in the Topham and is in the National. I doubt he'll go to Cheltenham and, at this point in time, I think his focus is on Aintree.
Lisnagar Fortune is one I've got to do a bit of thinking about. He's a horse that sometimes gets upset in the parade ring and I'm wondering are we better off keeping him at home and letting him run at Fairyhouse and Punchestown; possibly as a novice over fences next season he might get his chance to go to Cheltenham.
He's been disappointing. I ran him in the Moscow Flyer thinking he was going to be there at the business end but he ended up finishing last. He's qualified for handicaps and I'll have to go out in trip with him for races like the Martin Pipe or Coral Cup.
His main aim is going to be the Grand National, but he's also in everything he can be entered in at Cheltenham. I think he might be on too high a mark to run in the Kim Muir.
He was jumping French-style in the Betfair Hurdle which for a sharp two-mile handicap hurdle in England wasn't going to work. It would leave you to believe he's going to make a nice chaser, but he's got to learn how to jump lower, slicker and faster [to make an impact over hurdles]. Maybe he got enough experience there but I feel if he's going to make a mark at Cheltenham it might be over a longer trip because he spends too long in the air. He'll have learned a lot from the Betfair and is likely to take his chance at Cheltenham.
He looks a nice horse. He's a real late-maturing type and is one as the season progresses is going to get better all the time. He's an interesting one so we'll see how the handicapper rates him. He'll be going in something like the Coral or the Martin Pipe.
She was third in the Boodles last year so likes the track. I was very happy with her work on Saturday morning and she's on course for the County.
I'm looking at the Grand Annual as I think an end-to-end gallop in that will really suit him. We'll have a word with JP and see which race he favours as he's also in the Plate. We'll see what the runners are like in each race and what the handicapper says before making a decision. I think an end-to-end two-mile race will really bring out the best in him.
He beat Noble Yeats at Limerick over Christmas on nearly unraceable ground which surprised me. I thought he couldn't go on that ground. That subsequently proved a huge run as Noble Yeats came out and won the Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham. He's another interesting candidate for a handicap. He could be anything this horse - the day I bought him I thought he could be our next Gold Cup horse. He had problems but I thought he showed his ability at Limerick on ground he would have hated, and it will be interesting to see what he does at Cheltenham and Punchestown. I'm really looking forward to seeing him over fences next season.
He ran in the three-mile Pertemps qualifier at Leopardstown. We tried to make the running on him which is a hard task in a race like that and it appeared he didn't stay. We'll probably lower him in trip and he's in the Martin Pipe and Coral Cup. At the moment I'm favouring the Martin Pipe. He takes a bit of riding so I'll have to hope I can book a good conditional jockey for him.
We will more than likely aim for the County Hurdle, but it will be a tough assignment for him. He got very worked up at Cheltenham last season.
A fine mare. We started her over fences but have decided to keep her novice status for next season. She was third in the Triumph Hurdle last year and we'll see what weight she gets for the County Hurdle. She's also entered in the Mares' Hurdle.
BUMPER TEAM
I'm delighted with my bumper team. We never press them before Christmas and they’ve come right.
Cantico got beaten at Christmas and then won nicely at Navan. He deserves to go. Argento Boy won his only start and if he was in any other stable he'd go, so he'll go. Jasmin de Vaux was very good at Naas and has the credentials to go there. Maughreen was an 11-length winner at Punchestown and could be anything. C'Est Ta Chance could improve and go. Fleur Au Fusil has had two runs and two wins and she definitely goes. Fishery Lane is one I thought ran well behind another of ours, Coco Masterpiece, and even though he's a maiden he might get in and looking at the way he ran at Thurles he should improve hugely for that run. I don't know who Patrick will ride but to me You Oughta Know would be the form horse. You Oughta Know and Jasmin de Vaux are probably the top two I’d say.
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