After Willie Mullins outlined his plans for the season in his Sporting Life Stable Tour, Tony McFadden picks out an ante-post Lucky 15 featuring four potential stars based at Closutton.
Mirazur West - Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle
The pick of Mullins' bumper performers on Timeform ratings last season were Tullyhill (120), Fact To File (120) and Ballyburn (118) but none of them seem likely to develop into a contender for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle. Mullins is taking the rare decision to bypass a hurdling campaign and sending Fact To File straight over fences, while Ballyburn and Tullyhill are both viewed as more staying types than out-and-out two-milers, with the Albert Bartlett even mentioned as a possible target for the latter.
Mirazur West didn't achieve as much as his stablemates last season but he didn't get the opportunity as he contested only one bumper at Naas, which he won in hugely impressive style. That earned him the Timeform Large P to highlight that he was capable of significantly better.
Mirazur West has plenty of speed in his pedigree being a full brother to Ferny Hollow, who was himself considered a leading contender for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle before injury intervened. Their dam is from the family of Champion Hurdle winners Granville Again and Morley Street and it would be little surprise were Mirazur West, who travelled really strongly on his debut, to prove pacy and talented enough to make a big impact in top races over two miles.
Mister Policeman - Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices' Chase
Options were limited for Mister Policeman last season as he wasn't a maiden having won a juvenile hurdle in France before the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
That meant Mister Policeman, who raced just twice in France, was taking on much more battle-hardened and experienced rivals when he contested a conditions hurdle at Cork on Easter Sunday on his first start for the Mullins yard. He had obviously been pleasing at home, though, as he was sent off an evens favourite and ran out a ready two-and-a-quarter-length winner, running to a very smart level, particularly for one so light on experience.
His Timeform rating over hurdles of 149p leaves him plenty of ground to make up on ratings with other potential Arkle contenders like Facile Vega (158) and Marine Nationale (159p) but he is completely unexposed and has already come a long way in a short space of time. He's clearly considered to have plenty of potential as in his recent stable tour with Sporting Life Mullins said: "He has plenty of speed and he could go the whole way to the top."
Lossiemouth - Mares' Hurdle
No prizes for originality here but it's not difficult to see Lossiemouth going off a lot shorter than 3/1 in the Mares' Hurdle.
She put together an excellent campaign last season, winning four of her five starts for Mullins with the sole defeat easy to excuse as she was badly hampered just as things were heating up.
Lossiemouth was behind Gala Marceau on that occasion at the Dublin Racing Festival, but she has come out on top on the other three occasions they've clashed, including in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham where Lossiemouth was well on top. There's not much between Lossiemouth and Gala Marceau on ratings after the latter showed improved form to win a Grade 1 at Auteuil, though given their past history that victory also reflected well on Lossiemouth, as did Zarak The Brave's Galway Hurdle success after he had been brushed aside in the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle at Punchestown.
The presence of Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle division, plus Impaire et Passe and State Man from the Mullins yard, should mean there's little temptation to deviate from the Mares' Hurdle path.
Ballyburn - Ballymore Novices' Hurdle
Ballyburn "looks a top-notcher", was the verdict of Willie Mullins in his recent stable tour, while Patrick Mullins, who rode Ballyburn to two wins in bumpers last season, said "what he does when he hits top gear is pretty special".
It's not hard to see why team Mullins are so positive about Ballyburn after he established himself as one of the best in the bumper division with a couple of emphatic victories at Punchestown, showing a lot more pace than you might expect given his stout pedigree.
Ballyburn is a Flemensfirth half-brother to the very smart three-mile chaser winner Noble Endeavor, while another half-brother Minella Daddy won over three and a half miles, so it bodes well for his future that he proved so sharp in bumpers. It is also encouraging that he was so strong in the finish on both outings despite racing keenly.
He looked very much like a horse to follow when forging six lengths clear of some promising sorts and previous winners on his second start and his pedigree suggests he'll excel when stepping up in trip.
Ante-post Cheltenham Lucky 15 (All prices with Sky Bet)
Mirazur West - Supreme Novices' Hurdle (12/1)
Mister Policeman - Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices' Chase (7/1)
Lossiemouth - Mares' Hurdle (3/1)
Ballyburn - Ballymore Novices' Hurdle (5/1)
- A £1 Lucky 15 with four successful selections would return £4409
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