Mullins cashes in with lucrative festive treble
WILLIE Mullins and Paul Townend lit up Leopardstown yesterday as they combined for a 34/1 treble top worth almost €200,000. The champion trainer and champion jockey were successful with Chacun Pour Soi (4/7), Appreciate It (7/4) and Castlebawn West (13/2) as they bagged the biggest prizes on the card. But a shadow was cast over Mullins’ day when Reality Cheque, the 4/11 favourite, sustained a fatal injury in the bumper. Earlier, a low-lying sun ruled out the hurdle and fence in the straight, impacting on three races, to Mullins’ irritation. ‘Safety is paramount but horses have been jumping fences for years in sunlight. Why is it such an issue now? ‘Some days racing is ridiculous, like Flat races with a couple of fences thrown in the middle.’ After a runaway success in the Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase, Chacun Pour Soi has been cut to 5/4 favourite for the Champion Chase, while Appreciate It is 7/2 for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle after romping to the Future Champions Novice Hurdle. Castlebawn West is bound for the Aintree National after a pillar to post success under top weight in the €150,000 Paddy Power Chase.
WILLIE Mullins had one of those bittersweet afternoons at chilly Leopardstown where the warmth of three big race triumphs was marred by the untimely loss of a promising newcomer.
The champion trainer had observed how National Hunt racing was ‘a risky game every day you go out’ prior to the demise of his runner, Reality Cheque, which broke down when set to land the bumper.
What Mullins feels is unrepresentative of jump racing’s roots is the recurring removal of the obstacles that gives the sport its name, due to shadows cast by a low-lying wintry sun.
The first, third and fourth races on the card yesterday were affected with the sole hurdle and fence in the Leopardstown straight dolled off, much to Mullins’ frustration, even though he won two of the impacted races.
‘Safety is paramount, however horses have been jumping fences for years in sunlight. Why is it such an issue now. I don’t know?’ he said.
‘Some days it is ridiculous, like Flat races with a couple of fences thrown in the middle. Is that fair on punters, on people watching racing? Is it fair on good jumpers?’
Asked if it was up to jockeys or racecourse authorities to make the call on culling flights and fences, Mullins oozed exasperation. ‘I don’t know. We’re (trainers) never consulted anyhow. Trainers have to say everything about a horse and what might affect them, what bit they wear, what nosebands, what eye shadow they wear, everything.
‘And then you go to a chase and you only have to jump half the fences. It’s getting beyond ridiculous now. It’s a dangerous game. It’s a risky game every day you go out.’
Mullins has witnessed those risks with Chacun Pour Soi, who was held up before his belated Irish track debut, and then missed Cheltenham this year with an abscess.
About to turn nine, this was only his eighth racecourse appearance but it was a bit special as he turned the grade one Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase into a procession.
Pitched i n against such classy operators as Notebook and Put The Kettle On, the French-bred 4/7 favourite saw them off the premises with a
“Is that fair on
punters or on good jumpers?”
performance of sheer class under Paul Townend.
With Altior turned over at Kempton yesterday, the two-mile division is open for a new champion to be crowned, and Chacun Pour Soi looks the heir apparent after cruising to a six and a half length win over Notebook.
‘He seemed a different horse. He was full of spring and attacked his fences,’ observed Mullins. ‘He did what he tells us he can do at home.’
Townend was equally thrilled. ‘He’d a bit of swagger about him. The run in Cork left him spot on.’
Townend was soon steering home a second grade one winner of the afternoon as Appreciate It (7/4) blitzed his rivals in the Future Champions Novice Hurdle.
‘This lad’s not for catching or stopping. This has opened up a lot of doors,’ said Townend after a ninelength victory from Irascible.
Pressed on whether the longer ‘Ballymore’ at Cheltenham might be the preferred target over the ‘Supreme’, Mullins didn’t flinch. ‘We’ll go down the two-mile route, it looks the obvioust hing,doesn’ t it ?’ Second in the Cheltenham Bumper in March, Appreciate It has the scope to evolve into a potential Gold Cup contender in time. ‘He looks like a staying chaser,’ observed Mullins.
The final leg of a fantastic Festive hat-trick saw Townend at his best, dictating the pace on top weight Castlebawn West in the €150,000 Paddy Power Chase.
Apart from one miscue, the winner jumped like a stag and drew clear after the last to win by four and a half lengths from Minella Times.