A squadron of Willie Mullins’ horses are being readied for Saturday’s Coral Scottish Grand National programme in Ayr as the Irish man sets his sights on defending the champion trainer’s title in Britain.
Last season’s Ayr action proved pivotal to Mullins becoming the first trainer based in Ireland for 70 years to win the British championship.
Macdermott’s dramatic Scottish National success was one of four Mullins winners on the card and similar dominance could be in store this weekend.
A massive 40 entries have been made by the all-conquering Co Carlow-based trainer across all seven races, with 11 in the National alone. They include Chosen Witness, a winner at the meeting 12 months ago, and as low as 4-1 with some firms to land the big race worth £200,000 (almost €235,000).
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After a rampage through last week’s Aintree festival, including an unparalleled clean sweep of the first three places in the English Grand National, Mullins trails Dan Skelton by just £122,027 (just over €142,000) in the race to be crowned champion at Sandown later this month,
Despite Mullins topping the championship table after Aintree a year ago, the race to be champion went down to the final day, where the Irish man confirmed his overwhelming dominance of the sport on both sides of the Irish Sea.
He is a 1-3 shot to do the same again with Skelton at 2-1.
With more than €4 million already in the bag at home, Mullins is assured of a 19th Irish trainers’ title going into the season conclusion at Punchestown, which starts at the end of this month. Gordon Elliott trails him, having secured more than €3.3 million here.
The potential power-packed Ayr raid means Mullins has 11 of the 33 left in the National while he has seven of the 18 still in contention for the Scottish Champion Hurdle. The County Hurdle heroine Kargese is favourite in most antepost lists for that lucrative pot.
Skelton has made 15 entries for Saturday’s action, among them a trio of likely outsiders in the big race. The English man has also made eight entries for Friday’s action at the west of Scotland track.
Despite unseating his rider in his last start at Navan, Chosen Witness was quickly installed an antepost favourite. He won a hurdle contest at 16-1 a year ago. Mullins’s other two winners that day were Sharjah and Quai De Bourbon. Bialystok was runner-up in the Champion Hurdle.
In other news, ITV’s peak audience figures for Saturday’s Aintree National was 5.2 million, down almost a million on last year’s figure. It continued a worrying slide in ratings for the world’s most famous steeplechase. Peak terrestrial viewing reached 7.5 million in 2023, while nearly nine million watched Rachael Blackmore win on Minella Times in 2021.
Tuesday’s Irish action is on the flat in Navan where Jessica Harrington sends eight runners.
The Co Kildare trainer has indicated her exciting classic prospect Green Impact is likely to go to the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket next month with his Futurity winning stable companion Hotazhell being kept in reserve for the French Guineas a week afterwards.
Both horses beat the recent impressive Ballysax winner Delacroix as two-year-olds and are on course to make their first start of the season in the classics.
“The vague plan is, ground permitting, and they’ve had no rain in Newmarket for about six weeks, Green Impact will go to the English Guineas and then the plan at the moment, because the owners are coming over, is Hotazhell will likely go to the French Guineas.
“That’s sort of what we’re thinking at the moment, but everything could change. The horses have got to get there, and the ground has got to be right on the day. They are both fine on good ground and I think both would go on anything except extremes. Neither wants it too quick or too soft,” Harrington said on Monday.
Lucky Vega was third to Poetic Flare in the Guineas for Harrington four years ago and she is keen for Green Impact to take his chance. The colt wound up his juvenile campaign with a Group Two defeat of Delacroix at the Irish Champions Festival.
“He’s done well in his races, he can quicken up off a good fast pace and take the hustle and bustle well. He’s a big, strong horse. He showed plenty of pace to get to the front at Leopardstown last time and stay there. He’s uncomplicated, a well-balanced horse and he’d take the proceedings very well,” she added.
The countdown to next month’s Guineas takes another step this weekend with Newbury’s traditional trials taking place, including the Greenham Stakes for colts.
Juddmonte’s Jonquil, formerly with the now-retired Michael Stoute, could have a first start for Andrew Balding in a race the ownership famously won in 2011 with Frankel. Another Juddmonte star, Kingman, also took the race en route to classic success in the Irish Guineas.
Also, among the 16 left in at the latest acceptance stage is Brian Meehan’s Rashabar, runner-up in the Prix Morny and Prix Jean Luc Lagadere last season.
The fillies equivalent, registered as the Fred Darling, has Aidan O’Brien’s pair Bedtime Story and Heavens Gate left in after Monday’s acceptance stage.
