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Cheltenham Festival Stable Tour: Willie Mullins
Nick Seddon with a full stable tour for Willie Mullins's 2022 Cheltenham Festival team.
Willie Mullins, the most successful trainer of all-time at The Festival™, revealed that he could have up to three runners in the Grade One Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup this year.
County Carlow-based Mullins saddled Al Boum Photo to success in chasing’s Blue Riband in 2019 and 2020 with the same horse coming home third to Minella Indo in 2021. The 10 year old is set to line up for a fourth time this year and is set to be joined by Tornado Flyer, successful in the Grade One Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day, as well as possibly Asterion Forlonge.
Speaking at a media stable visit organised by The Jockey Club Mullins, who has enjoyed 78 Festival winners, said: “I’d rather I had Al Boum Photo in better order to be honest. He did some work and I wasn’t happy with him so we’ll see. We’ve still got plenty of time and he’s fit and I think he’s looked in better form this morning and in recent days. We just gave him a few easy days after his work and it just might not have been his day. He usually comes right for Cheltenham.
"I’d say we have a good record with running horses first time out at Cheltenham", says @WillieMullinsNH
— Timeform (@Timeform) February 23, 2022
Willie Mullins' record with horses running at the Cheltenham Festival after 300+ days off the track (Appreciate It will have been off 364 days) 👇 https://t.co/VK4fcmEs1W pic.twitter.com/DGAUFGd05h
“I wish he was in better form but we still have time. I’m hoping he comes into form and I think he will. I think we were probably a bit hard on him because he had a race and maybe that’s backfired on me a little bit. It looks a very open race though.
“Paul was very happy with him at Tramore and said he’s in way better form than he was last year and we thought that would take a bit of pressure off but because we hadn’t had the chance to run him we’ve worked him very hard at home and maybe we’ve overcooked it.
“It looks an open enough race and some of the leading contenders haven’t put their head up yet but a lot will depend on who turns up on the day.
“He’s done his job for us and Joe Donnelly and owes us nothing.
“Tornado Flyer goes for the Gold Cup and Danny was fantastic on him at Kempton. I think a similar type of performance to Kempton in the Gold Cup would put him right there and the extra two and a half furlongs could be an advantage to him. I’ve seen a few people say that the extra distance may not help but I think it might. If it is, that puts him right in the picture.
“At Kempton things fell into his lap a little bit and softer ground certainly wouldn’t stop him. It might favour him but on his pedigree he’d go on better ground too.
“He’ll go on either ground and I’m not concerned, stamina doesn’t seem to be a problem and he jumps well enough, so he’s there and he’s a player I think.
“I think going straight to Cheltenham was the plan coming home from Kempton after chatting to connections there. I wasn’t bothered about another run, we entered him in the Irish Gold Cup but we were happy to go straight there.
“The day Asterion Forlonge gets all his jumping together he’s going to be a player but unfortunately he picks a fence or two to make a mess of. He made two mistakes in the King George and it just got him out of the race and even then he was still coming back at the last looking like he had a chance.
“He ran a cracker at Leopardstown going to the second last and for no reason put down which lost him his position and then past the winning post he finished fourth which made me think ‘that wasn’t a bad performance’.
“I’m possibly hoping rather than expecting that we can get things right one day. He’s grand you just wouldn’t put a kid on him. When he’s racing he just seems to find and I’ve found over the years that if you keep running and running those horses they’ll get the hang of it. He’s not a handicapper that you can run once every three weeks – maybe that’s what I should do – but at the moment we feel he’s good enough to take his chance in Graded races.
“I’d imagine he’d go for the Gold Cup but there’s talk he could go to the Ryanair. I’m wondering because he’s a Coastal Path horse – which says stamina - but we may drop him back in trip because he does jump. Going flat out over two may just suit him and he may be better off being very aggressive. We all see when he races that he has Grade One ability, it’s just his jumping that lets him down.”
Daily Guide to the rest of the team
Tuesday 15th March
Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle – Kilcruit, El Fabiolo, Dysart Dynamo
“Kilcruit runs there, that’s the plan anyways. After that I don’t know. I really want to hear what Paul would have to say about what he would like to ride in the first race and we’ll leave that until we see how the horses are working in the last week.
“It would look like Kilcruit should go and he jumps well enough, so everything would seem right for him. He handles the track well and you’d think the horse who finished second in the Bumper could go for the two and a half mile race really but I’m not sure that would suit him.”
“Dysart Dynamo was very free the last day in front but I think Paul has said to me on more than one occasion that when he settles behind a horse he’s fine so I would leave it until late on.”
“El Fabiolo was very impressive at Tramore – which is our Cheltenham trial track! I think the form has worked out well too. He got a little cut the last day and we withdrew him but I think his form stacks up and he could run.
“You’d probably automatically say he’s a Supreme horse but maybe we could change and ride him differently in the Ballymore. He’s got plenty of speed and Paul is happy that he can settle him – that will be the key – so we could go for the Ballymore.”
Sporting Life Arkle Novices’ Chase – Blue Lord
“He’s done everything right and jumps well. He’s a fairly obvious one in that he’s going for the Arkle and hopefully runs well.”
Unibet Champion Hurdle - Appreciate It
“Appreciate It will go for the Champion Hurdle. He looks to be in great form at home and I had him away for a gallop last week and he did very well.
“Taking on Honeysuckle is a big challenge for any horse, she races any way that Rachael puts her and she’s going to be very hard for anyone to beat her – there doesn’t look to be anyone in the British Isles anyhow.
“I’d say we have a good record for doing that (running well first time out at the Festival), but I don’t know whether we’ve done it for the Champion Hurdle. Obviously, there was Quevega and it’s not something I’m worried about and I didn’t think he needed a run that close to the Festival so I’m very happy to go there as we are.
“He was going to go chasing this year and he got injured, so we changed our mind to go back hurdling as we didn’t want to lose his novice status this late in a season. It was a fairly easy decision to make. The novice chases can be very lucrative so you don’t want to waste it, you want to win three or four races during the season and if it’s a good season you could win six or seven! If he gets started early and the ground is nice we’ll see.”
Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle - Stormy Ireland, Burning Victory
“Stormy Ireland is in great form and she likes the track. I think she has a big chance in that, so she’d be one to watch. We think she’s in great order and I’m hoping we can get more out of her going to Cheltenham.”
“Burning Victory runs today and I’d imagine that’s where she will go too. She’s yet to put it all together and I think the day she does her rating will shoot up. As soon as she gets her jumping together she could be a serious mare.”
National Hunt Novices’ Chase - Stattler
“He’s going for the National Hunt Chase. He jumps well and before he even jumped a fence we thought he was a horse for this race. His method of jumping is much better than that and in time I think he’ll come back in and win over three and less because he’s such a good jumper.
“It’ll be up to Patrick to settle him. He’s very quick jumping. He won’t switch races in my book, we’ve had him mapped out for this and I think that’s where he looks. If he went into the Brown Advisory he wouldn’t be the favourite so I’m happy to go for this.”
Wednesday 16th March
Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle – Sir Gerhard, State Man, Minella Cocconer, Whatdowewant, Classic Getaway
“Sir Gerhard does everything right, except for the last day when we made the running and I thought it just didn’t suit him. He was so professional when he was in behind runners in Leopardstown the first day and I have no doubt that in whichever race he runs in, getting a lead will be fine. If he doesn’t get a lead this time I think both Paul and horse will know better and I think Sir Gerhard learned a lot.
“He’s got plenty speed and he jumps well so I’m looking forward to getting him over there. He could go in either race and I don’t think it really matters which we pick as I think he stays, so you could toss a coin at this stage.”
“I thought Danny gave Minella Cocconer a terrific ride to win at Leopardstown last time and I was really impressed with how he jumped. Danny settled him and got his breathers into him. He’s in the Ballymore and the Albert Bartlett and his style of racing could be tough for the latter.
“I haven’t made my mind up on him yet, you would think that the Ballymore would be the race for him though looking at his style of running, jumping and racing. However whether he is good enough is another decision I’m going to have to make. He takes a lot out of himself when racing so we’ll see where we go with him.
“State Man fell at Leopardstown and then won over two miles at Limerick. He’s a horse that’s improving and I haven’t put much thought into which race he’ll go. I imagine there’s no problem with him staying so the chances are he could go to the Ballymore. We could look at the County Hurdle though with a fall on your CV I’d be dubious. I’ll leave things open for now.
“I’d imagine Classic Getaway wants a trip and perhaps the Ballymore as I’d imagine he wouldn’t have enough experience for an Albert Bartlett.
“Whatdeawant is Ballymore bound from what I can gather as he’s the sponsor’s (Sean & Bernardine Mulryan) horse. He was disappointing at Naas and I just don’t think he did things right that day.”
Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase - Capodanno
“I imagine he’d go for the Brown Advisory. He’s back now but he hurt his shoulder at Leopardstown last month, he got a bad bruise but he’s OK now.”
Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase - Chacun Pour Soi, Energumene
“I think the world of Chacun Pour Soi and a lot of people are saying that he can’t face the hill at Cheltenham but he’s a horse I’d love to see get a fair chance over there – which I don’t think he’s had yet.
“Maybe he’s a horse that runs better fresh, especially when you take the travelling into account. People are saying we should fly him but I don’t think that’s the solution as it brings a whole new thing into it. I think he’ll be fine going over the way we do – we used to fly and there wasn’t much in it, plus the cost was high.
“When we went to Cheltenham in the early days, all the horses flew. Since ferries and roads have improved we can get to Cheltenham about two or three hours longer than we would when we fly, plus there’s so much waiting around when you do that. There’s a plus and minus to everything – we need our own plane and runway!
“At the time I thought we should have made more use of him pace wise last year but this year is a different race.
“He and Energumene are completely different horses. Energumene is a young horse coming into this and Chacun has done a lot of stuff, so we give him the respect he’s due I think.
“Energumene ran a terrific race in a brilliant day to be involved in at Ascot and we look forward to the rematch. We know he’s not far away from wherever Shishkin is but as I said on the day it’s going to be hard to turn that form around. Shishkin made two mistakes and we can probably change things a little bit and it’s going to be very tough to win but we’ll see.
“I never worry or think about ground when I go to Cheltenham. I think possibly nicer ground would suit Chachun more and the way he faded at Leopardstown might suggest that better ground may suit. I think Energumene will go on any ground.
“I haven’t asked Paul who he’s riding yet but I’d be a Chacun Pour Soi fan. I don’t know what way he’s leaning, it’s going to be hard to turn around the Shishkin form with Energumene so maybe he should play the other card if we can get him there in the order I want to get him there. It will be up to Paul.”
Weatherbys Champion Bumper - Facile Vega, Redemption Day
“Facile Vega has done everything right so far and from what I’ve seen at home and what I’ve seen at the racetrack he’s the one I’d be riding anyways.
“I got him ready last year to run and he did a bit of work one day and I said to myself ‘wow, this could be something special’. He got jarred and I left him alone after that. I thought if I can get him back this year and he was as good as last year, he would be good. I didn’t want to overstretch the mark at home and we got him to the racetrack and he won nicely. What he did from the furlong marker to home the last day was so professional and we’ve a nice team of bumper horses.
“You never know with them though, I’ve had plenty of morning glories over the years and it’s only when you bring them to the racetrack that you see.
“Normally a lot of racemares don’t breed good horses, they might take a generation or two out before they produce something good or they come via the half-sister or something but Quevaga (Facile Vega’s dam) wasn’t hard raced and that’s in her favour.
“Redemption Day is a very good bumper horse. Patrick and I were very impressed with him at Leopardstown. He missed the next meeting so he’ll go there without another race but he’s a horse for the future. You have to be impressed with the amount of speed he showed at Leopardstown at Christmas and he’s by Blue Bresil so he looks a decent horse I think.”
Thursday 17th March
Turners Novices’ Chase - Galopin Des Champs
“He was so good the first day and was very brave last time out, I think Paul learned plenty about him then. He’s in the Turners and the Brown Advisory and he could go in either. Once again I want to chat with Paul and I’d be happy enough if he went in the Turners. I think he has the ability to do that as he jumps well and is sharp.
“I think Galopin did it very well at Leopardstown and at the moment I’d be favouring the Turners. I think the way to do it is to look at the best race for the horse rather than the calibre of the opponent and I’m thinking our man may be better off over that trip. He’s obviously a warrior and I think it’s looking like the shorter race but I’ll have a chat with Paul and see what he thinks.”
Ryanair Chase - Allaho
“It looks like the Ryanair and he’s in great shape and doing well. He’d be the first one that comes to mind for me as the banker for us and I’d be very disappointed if he doesn’t run a really good race.”
Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle – Klassical Dream
“He goes for the Stayers’ and it was probably my fault at Gowran, I fell into the trap of going for it after giving him a break after such a hard race after Christmas. I thought he would be fit enough and sent him there on a wing and a prayer thinking it would be fine and it didn’t work out so I’m going to put a line through that run.
“He was very hard to ride at Cheltenham when Ruby rode him – he bolted to the start if I remember – and then what he did at Dublin Racing Festival at the start when he jumped. If he gets there in the right order and gets through the start, he’d have a good chance I think.
“It wasn’t on my agenda to run him at Gowran and then when it came up it looked like it may be there for the taking. It was only next door and I left with egg on my face! I’d love to go chasing with him but every time I do he seems to hurt his back or get a niggle. We’ll leave him this year and maybe next year could look at that when he’s matured again. He is a lot easier to keep right over hurdles.”
Parnell Properties Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle - Allegorie De Vassy, Brandy Love, Grangee, Dinoblue
“Allegorie De Vassy looks a really good mare and is a big strong mare who will jump fences down the line. We’ll look to the Mares’ Novice for her and I’ll tie in Brandy Love to this as she was second behind her at Fairyhouse last time.
“Brandy Love did it in her point to point and she did it in her bumper and she’s going to be going left-handed, which means most observers would say she has the beating of Allegorie De Vassy.
“Allegorie De Vassy I think is a mare who’s improving and I think it’s going to be a really good race. I’m going to throw the cat amongst the pigeons and mention Bryan Cooper who was on Grangee that day. He said he had everything under control behind him when he fell, which puts her in the picture as well!
“Dinobelue looked very good in heavy ground at Clonmel last month and I worked her the other morning. That was her first bit of work back and she worked very very well so I’m looking forward to running her in the Mares’ Novice.”
Friday 18th March
JCB Triumph Hurdle - Vauban
“He did everything nicely the last day at Leopardstown and jumped really nicely. He’s going to be a major player in the Triumph and everything has gone well since and I’m very happy with him.
“I wanted to keep him as a novice for next year so I hadn’t really been training him. He obviously met a good one on the first day (Pied Piper). The Triumph Hurdle is a lot of horse's Derby but I have bigger plans for this fella.”
Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle – The Nice Guy
“The Nice Guy is a horse that’s surprised me. He’s come out and won two bumpers and a maiden hurdle at Naas and it surprised me because at home I couldn’t get that type of feeling of him that he was going to win a bumper – let alone what he’s done. He’s a lot better than I thought he would be on his homework and I like how he keeps surprising me. He’s not a big strong three-mile chaser to look at but the way he jumps makes me think he’s going to make a nice chaser as well. He’s light-framed which means he might be a lot easier to keep sound so I’m very happy with his progress.”
St. James's Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters' Chase - Billaway
“Paul rode him last year when Patrick couldn’t and I don’t think he’d ridden him in a race. Patrick knows him and he’s a horse you need to know. We put cheekpieces on him the last day and it seemed to transform him, so we’ll keep those on and hopefully we’ll get that trophy. I promised John Turner that we’d win a nice trophy for him at Cheltenham, this is the one we picked and it’s why Billaway went hunter chasing. It’s a fabulous trophy, I won’t be taking it on my load bag at the airport if we’re lucky enough to win it!”
Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase – Concertista, Elimay
“I imagine Concertista will go to the Mares’ Chase and she has good form around Cheltenham. We worked her yesterday and she jumped some hurdles and some fences so we’re very happy. She has a small setback three weeks ago and yesterday was us seeing how she was and she jumped everything fine so we’re very pleased with her.
“Elimay is going to the Mares’ Chase and we put cheekpieces on her last time. She jumped really well in those so she might stick with those and maybe be more prominent riding her, we’ll see. She’s in good form.”