Willie Mullins' five best chances at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival including Facile Vega and Allaho
Adam Houghton profiles five key players in a phenomenally strong team for Willie Mullins heading to the 2022 Cheltenham Festival.
Sir Gerhard
Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle or Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle
Sir Gerhard did not face a straightforward task when lining up in the Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival, but last year’s Champion Bumper winner was still sent off at 13/8-on on just his second start over hurdles and he justified that support in decisive fashion.
His jumping left a bit to be desired, but the way he kept up the gallop to beat Three Stripe Life by six lengths was impressive and earned him a rating that has not been matched by a novice hurdler so far this season.
Sir Gerhard may be lightly raced over hurdles, but he is a mature seven-year-old who accrued plenty of experience in bumpers, so he is probably open to less improvement than stablemate Dysart Dynamo and Nicky Henderson's impressive Tolworth winner Constitution Hill.
Throw Jonbon into the mix as well and you have a red-hot Supreme Hurdle, so the Ballymore looks like a more suitable option for Sir Gerhard, who has not raced beyond two miles under Rules but comes from a pointing background and was strong in the finish at Leopardstown.
Facile Vega
Weatherbys Champion Bumper
Mullins had won the Grade Two bumper run at the Dublin Racing Festival in both 2019 and 2020 with Appreciate It and Kilcruit, respectively, and the hat-trick was brought up in scintillating style this year by Facile Vega, a son of leading sire Walk In The Park out of the great racemare Quevega.
Facile Vega, an impressive winner on his debut over the same course and distance on Boxing Day, was up against six other winners in what looked like a strong affair, but he was sent off the 11/8-on favourite and duly jusitifed that support with an explosive display, one that marks him down as a special talent and the best we've seen in the bumper division this season.
Facile Vega was always travelling powerfully and he led on the bridle two furlongs out before quickening 12 lengths clear.
On that evidence, it's going to take a performance out of the ordinary to inflict a first defeat on Facile Vega in the Champion Bumper.
Galopin des Champs
Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase or Turners Novices’ Chase
Galopin des Champs, a Grade One-winning novice hurdler last season, had looked something special on his chasing debut at Leopardstown over Christmas and he put in another stunning display at the Dublin Racing Festival to double his tally at the top level in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase.
Galopin des Champs was only nudged out to beat Master McShee – a Grade One winner on his previous start – by nine lengths, and he did so in a significantly faster time than Birchdale clocked in the handicap over the same course and distance later on the card.
Only sidelined stablemate Ferny Hollow has achieved a higher Timeform rating than Galopin des Champs among the novice chasers this season, and the scary prospect for Galopin des Champs' rivals is that he is likely to have an even bigger effort in the locker when the situation demands it.
A clash with Bob Olinger and L’Homme Presse in the Turners Novices’ Chase – the race Mullins seems to be leaning towards rather than the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase – is a tantalising prospect.
Allaho
Few horses split opinion before the 2021 Cheltenham Festival quite like Allaho, who was yet to get his head in front in five previous attempts in Grade One company.
Many people took the view that he essentially wasn’t good enough, while others believed that he was finally getting the opportunity to run over his optimum trip in the Ryanair Chase having seemingly failed to stay three miles in two previous visits to Cheltenham.
It’s fair to say that Allaho answered his doubters in no uncertain terms in last year’s Ryanair. Ridden aggressively from the front, he produced a wonderful exhibition of galloping and jumping to leave several high-class rivals trailing in his wake, ultimately passing the post with 12 lengths to spare over Fakir d’Oudairies and Tornado Flyer.
Put simply, if the same Allaho turns up in 2022 – and he looked as good as ever when easily winning a Grade Two at Thurles last time – then the others might as well stay at home.
Vauban
Vauban must be considered a worthy favourite for the Triumph after running out a comfortable winner of the strongest juvenile hurdle run in Ireland so far this season.
Five of the field in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival were unbeaten over jumps, including market leader Fil Dor, but they had no answer to Vauban, who went into the race as a maiden. That doesn't tell the whole story, though, as Vauban, a Listed winner on the Flat in France, had run a race full of promise when beaten just half a length into second behind Pied Piper on their respective hurdling debuts at Punchestown on New Year's Eve.
Pied Piper had advertised that form when easily winning a Grade Two at Cheltenham in January and Vauban himself was credited with significant improvement in winning by three lengths at Leopardstown.
Vauban is likely to progress further, too, a worrying thought for his rivals given that he has already shown form in the same ballpark as that required to win a typical edition of the JCB Triumph.
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