Willie has soft play in mind

WILLIE MULLINS wants rain to aid Un De sceaux’s bid for a record third victory in the Clarence house Chase at Ascot next saturday.

The 10-year-old, successful at the royal venue in 2016 and at Cheltenham — frost forced the race to be restaged last year — is a best-priced 4-6 favourite to win the Grade 1 two-miler.

Un De sceaux relished heavy ground to land Cork’s hilly Way Chase by 25 lengths just before the meeting was abandoned, and Mullins said yesterday: “We would prefer some rain for him. he seems to be very good in that sort of wet ground, though it may be that the others aren’t able to cope with it as well.

”But he’s in great form. And to use the old saying, I wish the race was today.”

The going at Ascot is currently good to soft and clerk of the course Chris stickels said yesterday: “We are forecast 10mm of rain on Monday, with bits of precipitation about most of the week.”

Meanwhile, bargain buy Doctor Phoenix landed the €100,000 Bar one racing Dan Moore memorial Chase in Fairyhouse yesterday.

The 10-year-old provided Gordon Elliott and Davy russell with the second leg of a double, initiated by Mitchouka, gave his trainer back-to-back wins in the race and more than repaid the 10,000 Guineas paid for him by Aidan ‘Mouse’ o’ryan in Doncaster last May.

owned by the Nick Bradley racing Club, he won for the second time in four starts for Elliott who commented: “he was bought for ten grand and is a cheap horse now, even if he never wins another race.”

Mullins, who bagged a treble at Punchestown on saturday including the impressive Getabird, had to settle for a double yesterday thanks to saturnas and Tornado Flyer.