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After such a successful Festival for him, Willie went 0-44 with his next runners (after Limini) before finally landing the conclusive bumper on today’s Fairyhouse card. Some bookmakers had something to smile in the last 11 days.
Yes hard to believe but he was on a very long losing run in terms of runners until he won the bumper yesterday. He had a good few seconds since limini won. I suppose its because he is only running his average horses at fairyhouse. Any good ones ran at Cheltenham and will be saved for aintree
It would be a significant change of strategy if he ran his best horses at Aintree, as they usually wait for Punchestown.
He only had nine runners at Aintree last year, with Nicholls Canyon the sole winner along with several beaten favourites. Basically they were the second string, the equivalent of what a top six PL team puts out in the early rounds of the League Cup.
His Aintree total for the last five seasons is just four winners.
He might send a small team and save his very best for other targets, but almost every Mullins runner at Aintree goes there with a live chance and runs its race.
The Mullins nine last year were…
– Arctic Fire (fell at the last when every chance in Aintree Hurdle)
– Daneking (third in white-hot juvenile handicap behind Theinval & The Saint James)
– Champagne Fever
– Winner Nichols Canyon, subsequently a G1 winner and Champion Hurdle 3rd
– Turban (running a big race in the Topham when coming to grief 5 out)
– Roi Des Francs (PU, but went on to become one of the best staying novice chasers this season)
– Bellshill (great 2nd in the Bumper, went on to win the Punchestown bumper)
– McKinley (I’ll give you that one!)
– Ballycasey in the National
– Babylone Des Motte (fav for the mares bumper, but 5th and finished lame, not seen since)Mullins seems to take the G1s especially seriously, with Arctic Fire, Bellshill, Boston Bob, Champagne Fever and Roi Des Francs representing the stable in recent years.
He has had plenty of live ones in the National, Topham and Foxhunters too. On His Own was twice going well before falling, The Midnight Club scared himself at the first and backed-off every fence but completed for an excellent sixth…Boxer Georg was 2nd to Baby Run in the Foxhunters…
You can tell by the way he is talking that he will be sending a good few more to Aintree this year. Annie Power and nichols canyon for the hurdle. Nc possibly for the 3 mile hurdle. He will have 4 runners in the national, turban in the topham again. He has a large number he could send to the bumper but you can be fairly sure there will be a few. He will definately send a few to the melling Chase with better chances than last year. And I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he has a representative in most races. He will have about 20 runners I would say
He’s giving the trainers championship a go as he is so close so will send a decent team to Aintree
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Cheers guys, this thread inspired me to do Flemenstar to beat Twinlight in a match bet
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I think you have to be selective with what you back of his at Aintree.
He sent nine last year and had ONE winner!!(and two places)
Does that mean if he sends twenty this year he will have two winners? ( and four places)
You can’t blindly back any trainer’s horses.
The 1/9 stat is very misleading. Arctic Fire fell when holding every chance, Daneking ran the race of his life to be a close third, Bellshill beat all bar the mighty Barters Hill and Babylone Des Motte might have won if she had not been injured.
If the cards had fallen slightly differently, it could have been 5/9, including three G1s.
Clondaw warrior rated 107 on the flat yet only 132 over hurdles. They say add 35-40 to a flat Mark to give a rough idea of a jumps Mark. Therefore clondaw warrior was 10/15 pounds well in. I backed it NRNB for all three of the races in Cheltenham in the hope that it would get into one of them. How it was only third favourite in this race was absolutely crazy. I was delighted to snap up the 5/1 I got but what logic were punters using to make both anibele fly and desoto county ahead of it in the market.
Willie was just interviewed he said other than Min at the moment it looks like ALL of his horses who went to Cheltenham are going to Aintree. Naturally some will have setbacks or whatever but that seems like a big statement of intent.
He seems very keen on having a go at the title. Not sure an Aintree trip will be what some of them need and I’d guess Punchestown may be the sufferers. It is very slightly reminiscent of the Nicholls/Pipe duel a few years back with both running anything and everything. It’ll be a sickener if Mullins claws his way to the front for Silviniaco Conti to then hose up in the National.
I’d suspect Douvan might miss it. I have a feeling he will be the one (calculated) risk they’re not prepared to take.
Slightly un-Willyish all this.On my post about Willie going for the championship I included a quote by Nicholls I heard on RUK over Cheltenham. PN quoted that Ruby Walsh went back across the Irish sea, after leaving Ditcheat, with more than a few pearls of wisdom and that was probably Mullins plan all along.(about as sour grapes as you could want to hear!) He is as good as saying here that Ruby Walsh has plundered his horse market/owner market. I agree with you about it not being very Mullins, however he is unbelievably polite and will be out there doing the very best for his owners. I don’t doubt that somewhere weaved into all of this is a bit of mud in the eye for PN, i’d hate to see the same outcome as the year Neptune Collonges won and Nicky Henderson missed out, PN does beat his own chest and I sincerely hope that the British championship goes across the Irish sea. I’m sure if PN had the horse power Willie does he’d be doing exactly the same thing, it is an amazing achievement to have the run ratio to prize money Mullins has and I doubt if it will be seen again by another trainer for many years, if again.
It’s nothing like the Nicholls v Pipe battle. Not even a little bit.
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That was pure pigheadedness from both camps. At the bloody end of the tussle, you had the ill-fated Commercial Flyer being raced five times in a fortnight, plus that horrible Celebration Chase. That was a truly ugly spectacle with second-rate sacks like Golden Alpha, Kadarann, Locksmith and Upgrade scratching around for prize money while first and second Well Chief and Azertyuiop suffered serious (and for one career-ending) injuries at the end of hard campaigns.In contrast Mullins is asking horses who have had very light campaigns to run two or three times in two-and-half months.
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