Patrick Mullins: Sunday thoughts

By David Ord

Sporting Life Plus

Sun December 08, 2024 · 3d ago

Patrick Mullins is delighted to see Energumene return to action in Sunday's Bar One Racing Hilly Way Chase - but isn't expecting fireworks.

The former two-time champion chaser faces five stablemates plus the penalised Banbridge and big outsider The Banger Doyle in the Grade Two contest as he races for the first time in 593 days.

Mullins said: “It’s fantastic to finally get him back. We’ve been crossing our fingers and holding our breath all autumn hoping nothing was going to go wrong. It’s not going to be easy. He’s ten going on eleven and a big heavy horse and those horses are often very hard to get back.

“But it’s the perfect place to start him out, it’s going to be soft ground and it’s a fantastic prize Bar One Racing have put up in Cork, 100,000 euros so it’s a Grade One in all bar name.

“He's ready to start but will obviously need the cobwebs blowing away being a horse coming off a year off after an injury but Paul Townend has chosen him and the rest of our horses are also having their first run while Banbridge has to give him ten pounds. It looks a fantastic opportunity for him to get back on the ladder.”

Mullins rides Ferny Hollow in the race, a horse who has been hard to train in recent seasons but one with significant ability.

“I think if we were holding our breath for Ferny Hollow we’d have expired a long time ago! He’s a horse with a huge engine and so much ability and since we’ve put the hood on him he’s been a very tractable ride. The hood really transformed him," he added. “I won his beginners’ chase on him the day Allaho won the John Durkan and rode him in his bumpers.

“It’s not easy for him. He only had one hurdles run and three chase runs so he doesn’t have much experience. It’s going to be very soft ground, he has to give three pounds to Energumene because he won a Grade Three last year but again it’s a perfect starting point.

“He’s done as much work as we can get into him but with these fragile horses you’re maybe doing slightly less than you would with ones that are sounder so there’s always that in the back of your mind but natural ability should get him a long way.

“He’s only nine, he’s a year younger than Energumene. I think it’s going to be a fascinating race, as good as we’ve seen over the last few weekends. These are proper Grade One horses competing for a proper prize. There’ll be no holds barred.”

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