RACING:WILLIE MULLINS hasn't forged a legendary racing career through good fortune alone but the champion trainer was happy to acknowledge the role of luck after Blackstairmountain landed Leopardstown's St Stephen's Day Grade One feature.
The Racing Post Novice Chase had been expected to be dominated by the odds-on favourite Bog Warrior but his crashing fall at the fourth fence threw the race wide open and got Mullins thinking.
Just quarter of an hour earlier Sir Des Champs was handed the big race at Limerick on a plate when his big rival Knockfierna crashed out through a wing at the final fence. Mullins had watched that on TV at Leopardstown and reckoned racing’s fickle fates might be on his side.
Sure enough Paul Townend slowly eased Blackstairmountain into contention on just his second start over fences and stalked the English raider Notus De La Tour over the final fence. When the jockey went for everything, the Mullins star quickened up impressively to land the €85,000 highlight.
“Things looked to fall his way and we were fortunate with the favourite falling,” admitted Mullins. “But you need luck in this game, as we saw with Sir Des Champs. When I saw the favourite falling I just wanted Paul to keep his jumping together. This horse has gears and they’d gone very fast. But he actually produced more at the finish than Paul thought he would.”
Blackstairmountain was installed as a 16 to 1 shot with some firms for the Arkle at Cheltenham in March but a return to Leopardstown for the Irish Arkle will be next on his agenda.
“He’s won a Grade One over hurdles and fences now. Maybe fences will bring out the best in him and you would expect he will be even better on better ground in the spring,” added Mullins, who’d earlier also scored at Leopardstown with Midnight Game in one of the maiden hurdles.
Yesterday’s action brought his tally to almost €1.1 million in prizemoney so far this season, almost double his nearest rival, in the Irish trainers’ championship.
Bog Warrior got up from his fall as did jockey Davy Russell, although he was stood down by the Turf Club doctor from riding in the following handicap chase. He is expected to be fine for today’s action.
The horse was taken to a veterinary hospital for checks on bangs to his head and ribs. Tony Martin’s Grade One winner had nodded on landing over the first but had raced to the front after the second before exiting dramatically. He remains unchanged in ante-post betting for both the Arkle and the RSA Chase at Cheltenham.
