It is two years since Max Dynamite enjoyed his finest success at York's Ebor festival but Willie Mullins has secured a theoretically perfect opportunity for the 2015 Melbourne Cup runner-up to bridge that gap at Killarney.
There’s a major gulf between the Group Two Lonsdale Cup that Max Dynamite won in 2015 and the €13,500 amateur riders event he lines up in on Thursday.
There was also a gulf in performance between his memorable effort in Melbourne and what Max Dynamite subsequently achieved in 2016.
A series of niggling issues then kept him off the track for 14 months and if there was a temptation to write him off as a back-number a bare examination of his Galway Hurdle comeback earlier this month might encourage such a view.
Despite the lengthy absence though it’s noticeable how Max Dynamite started a heavily backed 7-2 favourite for Ireland’s richest hurdle race. He ultimately finished only ninth to Tigris River but a mistake at halfway effectively ended his chance.
Patrick Mullins rides the horse for the first time now in a seven-runner race which includes the former Cheltenham winner Silver Concorde and Sandymount Duke who carries the colours of Ronnie Wood of Rolling Stones fame.
The conditions of the race however mean that steeplechaser has to concede 4lbs to a horse still rated 112 on the flat.
“He made a bad mistake [at Galway] and that was race over as you can’t afford to do that in a race like that,” said Patrick Mullins said. “Willie was looking for a race to get his head in front and get some confidence back. This looks a nice opportunity.”
Mullins has almost €750,000 in prizemoney already secured in Ireland’s new National Hunt season and nearly €350,000 in the current flat campaign.
The champion jumps trainer runs three in the €50,000 featured flat handicap including one of the topweights, Laws Of Spin.
She’s So Flawless flies the flag for the three year olds alongside Clongowes but with Dermot Weld’s horses coming back to form the Galway hurdles winner Aydoun – complete with a first-time visor – could be one to watch.
Champion jockey Pat Smullen is also likely to fancy his chances in the first two races on Andesh and Ojinjintka who has first-time cheekpieces.
