TIME MACHINE Faugheen rolls back the years to land huge victory zMullins is favourite in title battle with Elliott
WILLIE MULLINS chalked up a century of career winners at the Punchestown Festival and topped €1million in winnings for the week after Faugheen executed an ‘extraordinary’ performance in the Stayers Hurdle.
Winning jockey David Mullins hailed Faugheen as ‘the best horse I’ve ever seen’ as the 10-year-old filled the middle leg of a 117/1 treble for all-conquering Mullins which included Footpad’s victory in the Ryanair Novice Chase.
With 12 winners for 12 different owners, the 61-year-old is on target to eclipse his record of 16 wins in 2015 and put further distance between him and Gordon Elliott in their Irish title decider.
LAST Saturday, Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh stood forlornly on the gallops of Closutton, watched Faugheen flounder and agreed the engine on the horse known as ‘The Machine’ had blown up.
‘Ruby and I both felt “that’s him gone”,’ revealed Mullins.
Jump forward four days and Mullins was scrambling for superlatives after his 10-year-old stable star was first off the grid in the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle and never passed.
‘He fooled me all year,’ said a grinning Mullins as Faugheen won for the first time in 17 months and took his career earnings surging past the €1million mark. This was no nail-biter either. Faugheen simply crushed his rivals as he led from pillar to post with an enterprising ride from David Mullins.
By the post, the 11/2 chance had eight lengths to spare over Penhill, the champion stayer at Cheltenham, with the rest spread-eagled across the Punchestown plains.
This was Faugheen, six days before his 10th birthday, at his fluent, flawless, fearsome finest.
For owner Rich Ricci, who wrapped Mullins in a bear hug in the parade ring, this was the one he wanted as he finally got off the Festival mark as a winning owner.
As for Mullins, this sensational victory put all thoughts of Faugheen’s retirement on hold and opened up intriguing venues for 2018-19, including the novice chase route.
It was not something Mullins contemplated ahead of battle. Rather, he was fearful this may have been Faugheen’s final fling.
‘After his work the other morning, this was kind of the lastchance saloon today,’ admitted Mullins.
‘I’m trying to find what went up beside him. Maybe we’ll back that later in the week! What a horse. It’s extraordinary. He’s a fair engine, leading from that position,’ he said.
‘David [Mullins] said he loved it. He probably got a lot of things his own way today that he mightn’t have in the future.
‘They were going a different gear here too, maybe he’s just fed up going that two-mile gallop. Maybe when he got things his own way he started to enjoy it.’
There was the Punchestown factor too. In his six previous runs at the track, Faugheen had won five times.
‘The only time he was beaten here was when he let Nichols Canyon have a lead. He does like this track,’ observed Mullins. And what now? After all, retirement was an option if things had gone badly.
‘If he had finished down the field we probably would have said “you know what, it’s probably time to do that”, but it didn’t happen,’ said Mullins. ‘He could go chasing next year, he’d be a right novice chaser wouldn’t he? He doesn’t know what age he is. Wasn’t Isleofhopendreams a novice chaser last year at 10, and he was only beaten a short head in the Irish National. ‘We’ll see what Rich wants to do with him. ‘Faugheen obviously didn’t enjoy two-mile hurdling because of the pace. Do we want to subject him to three-mile races on heavy ground, I’d rather go novice chasing maybe.’ For the flamboyant Ricci there was a reason to smile at last. ‘You can’t make it up,’ said the beaming American businessman, in his trademark shades and tweeds. ‘I didn’t watch most of it I have to admit, but I was listening and when he kept that lead I thought we might do it. It’s magic.
‘The ball hasn’t bounced our way all season but to have something like this with a great horse, it means everything.’
The one-two was worth €220,000 for Mullins and took his earnings for the week past the €1m barrier, but he wasn’t finished as Footpad was faultless soon after in the Ryanair Novice Chase for a €69,000 top-up.
In winning a fourth Grade One of the season, Footpad was even more impressive than he was at Cheltenham, reckoned Mullins, who admired the ‘spring-heeled’ way the six-year-old flew at his fences.
Like Faugheen, there are alternative avenues for next season with the Gold Cup, hitherto so elusive for Mullins, a possible target over the Champion Chase. ‘He could step up in trip,’ said the master trainer.
Another red-letter day for the Mullins camp had kicked off with Cadmium’s win in the Pigsback.com Handicap Chase under Paul Townend, who leads the jockeys’ table with four wins.
As for the destination of the Irish trainers’ title, it’s a foregone conclusion as Mullins has turned a deficit of €521,414 on Gordon Elliott at the start of the week into an advantage of €424,148.
Like Faugheen yesterday, he is out in front and won’t be caught.