Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MULLINS’ GOLDEN BOY
Willie is talk of the Town again after Kemboy triumph
KEMBOY crowned Willie Mullins’ domination of the Dublin Racing Festival with a gutsy victory in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown.
The success under the trainer’s nephew Danny gave Ireland’s champion trainer a remarkable sixth Grade 1 triumph from eight top-level races staged over the meeting’s two days.
“When it comes together, it gives a lot of satisfaction to the whole team,” said Mullins (right),who walked away with nine of the fixture’s 14 races.
“It’s a tremendous initiative to put on a weekend like that — I’m not sure there has been that calibre of horse at a two-day race meeting ever in the British Isles.”
While Kemboy could take in the Cheltenham Gold Cup or the Stayers’ Hurdle at the National Hunt Festival — “I’m not sure whether fences round Cheltenham are his thing,” said Mullins — the Co Carlow trainer was left in awe by the performance of Monkfish in the Grade 1 Flogas Novice Chase.
Having watched last season’s Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle victor score by 11 lengths under Paul Townend — he is now the
4-5 hotpot for Cheltenham’s three-mile Festival Novices’
Chase — Mullins smiled: “What can you say after a performance like that?
“This fella has some potential. Everything is so effortless. The horse was fantastic and Paul was fantastic on him.” Appreciate It hardened to 7-4 market leader for Cheltenham’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle after capturing the Grade 1 Chanelle Pharma Novice Hurdle.
Only Gordon Elliott could break Mullins monopoly of the Sunday Grade 1s as Quixilios justified 4-6 favouritism in the juvenile hurdle.