The fear of failure is terrible, we could end up with nothing
He has a record for Festival winners and a host of favourites in his 40 runners but Willie Mullins admits...
McCoy’s bedside vigil with his heart-op son
THERE has never been a force like it. Upwards of 40 contenders for this week’s Cheltenham Festival assembled under the banner of one trainer, Willie Mullins.
The first wave of his raiding party crossed the Irish Sea last night. Dozens more will follow in an exercise planned with military precision.
On Tuesday, the opening day, Mullins is responsible for four hot favourites, including two-time Champion Hurdle winner Hurricane Fly and the mare Quevega, who is seeking an unprecedented sixth victory in a row at the Festival. The story is much the TONY McCOY will take the next two days off ahead of the Cheltenham Festival to be at the hospital bedside of seven-month-old son Archie, who has just undergone heart surgery. McCoy, who described the build-up to Cheltenham as the ‘most difficult’ of his career, still plans to be at the Festival when racing gets under way on Tuesday. The 39-year-old father-of-two revealed that Archie was admitted to hospital in London with a bronchial condition. same for the rest of the week. With so much at stake, you might expect Mullins to be feeling the pressure ahead of the meeting. He was a picture of calm at his yard in County Carlow as he put the finishing touches to his team, but beneath the surface Ireland’s champion trainer is full of anxiety.
As we spoke, Hurricane Fly led one group of horses warming up on a right-handed circular gallop, while yards away a second group were cantering steadily left-handed on a sand track. If it appeared a little chaotic, there was no doubting the intelligence of the man at the helm as he spoke of the challenges ahead.
‘Cheltenham is huge for us. We put our whole winter into it,’ said Mullins, the 57-year-old former jockey who has been training since 1988.
‘We used to hope to get a winner there and be delighted if we did. Now, with the amount of horses we are taking, there is a sort of dread that goes with it.We seem to have a fancied horse in a race. Some of them will start at ridiculously short prices. I keep saying to my son, Patrick, “You think this is normal” But this is not normal. This is out-ofthe-world stuff. I feel the same every time I go up to the gallops.
‘You are seeing 40 horses likely to be at Cheltenham. In the next lot there will be horses that any trainer would be delighted to have.’
With increasing numbers comes greater expectation. Mullins has dominated Irish racing this season, win- ning £2.2million, and has had an Irish-record 29 winners at the Festival. ‘The fear of failure is terrible and there is this fear of going to Cheltenham. We could end up with no winners. I think about that every day. The only pressure I feel comes from my own expectation, knowing that if the ball hops the wrong way for one or two of your key horses, then you are depending on 33-1 shots to get you a winner. Then people will be saying that Willie had a bad Festival. That is the fear of going to Cheltenham. So we do look at it apprehensively.’
Mullins, whose father Paddy was
10-time Irish champion trainer, talks with searing honesty about the week he achieved three winners at the Festival yet returned home feeling a degree of disappointment.
‘That is the way things have gone. I’m sure all teams are like that. Barcelona would not be happy if they didn’t win the European Cup every other year.’
There is no disguising his affection for Hurricane Fly, who makes up for lack of size with an almost tangible will to win. ‘Although he’s not very big, he still acts like a colt and retains all his fight and aggression,’ said Mullins. ‘You have to check your fingers every time you come out of his box.
‘Last year at Cheltenham, I dropped my guard for a second, turned my back and he bit me on my backside, drawing blood. That night I was only able to use one side of the bar stool.’
Mullins, who trained 2005 Grand National winner Hedgehunter, recalled his dismay when The Fly worked more like a snail on the gallops one morning in January. ‘I thought maybe the dream was over, that he’d had enough. We then discovered he had a bruised foot,’ he said. ‘It’s hard to believe but he seems stronger than ever at 10. Most of all I’d like him to win a third Champion Hurdle for his sake.’
Using the skills of a diplomat, Mullins has managed to keep his two outstanding mares apart this week. Quevaga goes for the OLBG race, while Annie Power tackles Big Buck’s in the World Hurdle.
Mullins is already the top Irish trainer at Cheltenham. Given the strength of his squad, it will be a shock of seismic proportions if he does not add to his score this week.