Mullins on track to rule Festival

REIGNING champion hurdler Faugheen has been hailed as a near-certainty to retain his title at the Cheltenham Festival after cruising to victory in the Irish equivalent at Leopardstown.

The eight-year-old is as short as 1-4 with Ladbrokes to win in March. With Willie Mullins-trained stablemate Douvan producing a flawless display to canter home in the Arkle Novice Chase, bookmakers fear a Mullins-inspired pummelling at the biggest meeting of the jumps season.

The two wins followed Mullins’ Saturday Ascot double with Un De Sceaux and Vroum Vroum Mag as the Festival threatens to develop into one-way traffic.

Mullins (right) trained a record eight winners at last year’s Festival but that return will be a minimum expectation this time.

Despite being £700,000 behind Paul Nicholls in the race to be British champion trainer, Coral make Mullins oddson favourite to lift the crown in the belief he will scoop a huge chunk of the £4.1million Festival prizes.

Nicholls has nothing in the Champion Hurdle to threaten Faugheen, whose defeat by Nichols Canyon in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown in November now looks an irrelevant blip.

Yesterday Nichols Canyon was beaten 28 lengths in third. Second by 15 lengths was Mullins’ 2015 Champion Hurdle runner-up Arctic Fire. The trainer, who had won the last five Irish Champion Hurdles with the now retired Hurricane Fly, said: ‘It was an electrifying performance. I don’t think I’ve seen him jump so well.’ Both Faugheen and Douvan are owned by Rich Ricci, who said: ‘To win by 15 lengths on this ground is brilliant. You can’t describe the performance

anything other than that.’