Willie Mullins sends eight runners to Wednesday’s Fairyhouse card, although he might be forgiven for already having half an eye on a return to the Ratoath track this Saturday where Jade De Grugy could book her Cheltenham Festival ticket.
The French import impressed hugely on her Irish debut over Christmas when a wide-margin winner at Leopardstown and bookmakers rate her as Mullins’ best chance of re-establishing his grip on Cheltenham’s Dawn Run Mares’ Novices Hurdle in March.
The champion trainer landed the first five runnings of the festival contest introduced in 2016. However, he has been out of luck in the last three years and Jade De Grugy is an 8-1 third-favourite to change that behind both Gordon Elliott’s Brighterdaysahead and the English hope Dysart Enos.
That pecking order could change after Saturday’s Grade Three SBK Solerina Novice Hurdle for which Jade De Grugy was one of 11 left in at Tuesday’s latest acceptance stage. She is joined by stable companion Judicieuse Allen who made her own winning Irish debut at Limerick last month.
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Limini scooped the Solerina before scoring in the first ever Dawn Run at Cheltenham, while the Fairyhouse contest was also landed by no less than the subsequent dual-Champion Hurdle winner Honeysuckle in 2019.
Mullins is already a 1-6 favourite to be crowned leading trainer at Cheltenham for a 12th time. If he repeats his 2023 haul of six winners, he will reach the once scarcely imaginable tally of 100 festival successes in all.
His strength in depth was underlined on Tuesday when he made 80 entries at the latest acceptance stage for the trio of Grade One novice hurdles, the Supreme, Baring Bingham (formerly the Ballymore), and the Albert Bartlett, as well as the Triumph Hurdle.
The next big date en route to Cheltenham will be the upcoming Dublin Racing Festival, although Nick Rockett might cement his status as a player for the long-distance National Hunt Chase if successful in Sunday’s Grade Three novice event at Naas.
He is joined among nine potential starters for the three-mile event by Mullins’ Paddy Power Chase winner, Meetingofthewaters, a 10-1 shot for the Cheltenham marathon.
Paul Townend’s presence on Macdermott in Wednesday’s opening Beginners’ Chase at Fairyhouse will be encouragement enough for many while another Mullins hope Spread Boss Ted should also be hard to beat.
D B Cooper put in an encouraging effort behind No Flies On Him over Christmas but Miraur West could prove an insurmountable obstacle in a maiden hurdle.
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