Anzadam

“I was really happy with the way he took to chasing when he won at Naas last weekend. There was lots of pace on over first two fences and he jumped them very fluently. Coming past the winning post on the first circuit, there was a horse in front of him, two right behind him and he was in the middle with a loop on the reins. I’d never seen him like that before in a race, so the fences are making his relax more and think about it more.

“He should improve as he goes through the season, because the fences are making him more controllable during a race. He was very keen over hurdles and didn’t show any respect for those obstacles. I haven’t thought about where he’ll go next.”

Apolon De Charnie

“He’s not a big horse, not your typical chaser and more of a flat/dual-purpose horse, but I might send him over fences. I’ve schooled him and am more than happy with him. Paul [Townend] thinks he jumps well enough. We might go down a dual-purpose route with him afterwards.”

Ballyburn

“He’s back in pre-training but I don’t know if we’ll get him back to run this season. I think he’ll miss the campaign, but if he does run, it’ll be the second half of the second half of the season.”

Bambino Fever

“She didn’t have the season I was hoping for last year and I think she got a bit jarred up at Cheltenham, so I don’t want to run her anywhere there isn’t nice, soft ground. We haven’t got that yet.

“As soon as we can, I’d like to get her started over fences, although that might not be until December, ground-depending. We’ll go down the novice chase route and see if she goes for one of the good novices or sticks to the mares’ route. She could be good enough, all being well, to take on the geldings.”

Bentraghhill

“He won at Leopardstown last Christmas but didn’t get back to run at Cheltenham in the Champion Bumper. I’m doing a lot less with him than I’m doing with the rest, so he’ll definitely be after Christmas. I didn’t want to go at him too soon or too hard. He’s a very nice horse, a chaser in the making. His turn will come, but I felt he needed more time.”

Chic Me

“She’s nice. I think she’s quite good. I’m hoping she’s a Triumph Hurdle filly. I loved what I saw the day she won, before we bought her, and I like everything about her since. She could start off at Fairyhouse in the Grade 3 juvenile hurdle later this month on Hatton’s Grace day. Maybe it’ll come a bit soon, but we could start her off there and hopefully plan a route to the Triumph Hurdle for her. I think she’s one I like a lot.”

Delamotte

“He won his only start very nicely in a bumper at the Punchestown Festival. I’d say Patrick [Mullins] went about two furlongs further than the rest of the field that day for better ground. I think he’s a very good horse. He’s one I’m looking forward to. To do what he did that day, I thought it was exceptional.”

Dinoblue

“The Hilly Way Chase will look like her first starting point of the season, she’ll probably get her ground there. She’s consistent and easy to train, just what you’d want in a horse. I’d imagine this will be her last season before retiring to the breeding sheds.”

Dnipro

“He won on the flat in France [for Andre Fabre] in May and has since joined us. A three-year-old by Galiway, he looks a nice type of horse for Rich and Susannah Ricci.”

Doctor Steinberg

“He looks a staying chaser every day of the week. He surprises me every year in that he’s not a gross horse and doesn’t take long to get fit. He could run on nice ground, because he’s not heavy, but I think he prefers softer ground. I hope he’ll be out in the next three weeks or so, like the others.”

Even Tho

“She really took my eye when she won at Punchestown in her second bumper. She could be a real good talent. Rachael Blackmore bought her and is hopefully going to make it as a bloodstock agent now - another string to her bow! She’s bought one or two and I’m looking forward to them coming out. They look nice at home.”

Fact To File

“I’m looking at the John Durkan for him, before Christmas, the Dublin Racing Festival and the Ryanair at Cheltenham, which would look the obvious thing for him - depending on what J.P. [McManus] has for whichever race.

“One would wonder whether he stays the actual distance for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but he might this year with a bit more age on his side.

“Definitely, he’s so good around Cheltenham, I think it’d take a fair bit to move him off the target of the Ryanair Chase at the Festival.”

Final Demand

“He starts off in the John Durkan and will probably head to Leopardstown at Christmas. I want to keep him where there’s soft, at least - if not heavy - for the time being. He looks like an out-and-out stayer for going down the Gold Cup route, all being well.”

Forty Fifty

“I like this horse, owned by Nick Rockett’s owner Stewart Andrew. He ran a nice race in the Triumph Hurdle and will be a nice chaser. He’ll go hurdling now and I think whatever he does will be a bonus this season. I think he might go the whole way over fences in time.”

Gaelic Warrior

“He’ll start his season in the John Durkan and then go onto Christmas. He ran in the King George last season [beaten two noses in third] but I don’t know if I want to go back to Kempton - I think the ground was much firmer than I wanted and I’m not sure I want to bring him there again. It was the wettest winter we’d had [for some time] and still the Kempton ground was quite good. That’s my worry about him, so I’ll probably keep him at Leopardstown, all being well. We’ll see how the thing progresses. It probably surprised me the ease with which he did it at Cheltenham in the Gold Cup.

“He’s obviously got a bit of speed, but he’s got reserves of stamina. We started him off as an Arkle horse over fences before stepping up to a Gold Cup trip. All the old guys will tell you that a good Gold Cup winner would win a Champion Chase. He’s probably one of those who could win a Champion Chase.”

He’s On Fire

“He looked a great prospect last season and will start off in a beginners’ chase this term. He’s a big, tall unit. I love him. He’ll go down the Arkle route, that’s the plan at the moment. I’d like to get him out before Christmas. I’m not going to rush him, he takes a little bit of minding.”

I Am Maximus

“He’ll start off in the John Durkan, like last year, and then could go to the Savills Chase again at Christmas. From there, we might look at the Bobbyjo Chase and then the Grand National.”

Il Etait Temps

“It was disappointing we didn’t get our run at Clonmel. He’ll go straight to the Tingle Creek now and we’ve got to hope we’ll get enough work into him before then. Hopefully he won’t be too fresh. However, he loves the track over there and I thought he was only half ready when winning on the last day of the season at Sandown two seasons ago. Horses for courses, that’s where he goes.

“Usually when a horse gets the type of fall he got at Ascot, it can take them until the end of the spring to come right. Maybe something was at him that day that put him off, we never found anything. But we were as surprised as anyone that he put in such a bad performance and he was down for about five minutes. To turn that form around and be as fresh as a daisy for his next run… Also, what Paul did on him in the Champion Chase, I think it was the ride of the week at Cheltenham.”

Impaire Et Passe

“I’d imagine he’ll start off in the John Durkan but could end up at Aintree. Simon [Munir] and Isaac [Souede] usually like going to Aintree, so he might be kept for there with runs beforehand at Christmas and the Dublin Racing Festival.”

Interstellar

“He won two hurdle races in France before coming to us and is a three-year-old by Telecaster. I haven’t done much with him yet but he looks like a nice horse.”

Jade De Grugy

“She’s great, though we haven’t made our minds up about whether she’ll go chasing or back over hurdles this season. I’d say we’ll go the Mares’ Hurdle road.”

Jimmy Du Seuil

“He’ll go for the Stayers’ Hurdle. He jumped well on his chasing debut last season and then got worse. Looking through things the other day, we thought we’d give him a crack at the Stayers’ because another of my horses met with a setback in that division, Jasmin De Vaux. He’ll be out for the season unfortunately.

“We’ll start Jimmy Du Seuil off in the Hatton’s Grace. I’m not sure if he’s got the rating over hurdles to be good enough to go the whole way, but his run at Punchestown when second last season prompted us to go this route. It’s a division we have very few runners in and we’ve nominated him.”

Kaid d’Authie

“He’ll start off in the John Durkan and I have it written in my notes that he could be one for the Ryanair Chase. He could stretch out in trip, I think, but we’ll go down that Ryanair route for the time being.”

Kargese

“I think she might go for the Hilly Way Chase at Cork before heading down the Champion Chase route. It’s a pathway we’ve gone on before and I’m a creature of habit!”

King Rasko Grey

“He’s one I’m really looking forward to this season, a Galiway who might be a proper chaser. He’ll start off in a beginners’ chase. This time last year, I’d have thought he’d be a Arkle horse, but he ends up winning the Turners Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham and that would suggest he’s a Brown Advisory horse this year, which would be fine.

“I have a few people asking me if I should go back for the Champion Hurdle; that’s how much people have respect for him but I don’t know. I want to go chasing with him. If he doesn’t make it over fences, he can go back over hurdles. He does very good work at home for us. I think he’s a fair sort. He’s not far off a run, if we get the ground.”

Kitzbuhel

“Given he won at Kempton last Christmas in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase, I would look at maybe going back there again for the King George next month, then onto the Dublin Racing Festival, Cheltenham and Punchestown. He looked really at home at Kempton last year so I’m really looking forward to getting him over there. The obvious race to start off in is the John Durkan; that’ll put him right for Kempton.”

Kopek Des Bordes

“He would look to be Champion Chase material, I think. We’ll probably run at Christmas next, unless we go somewhere intermediate, skip Christmas and head to the Dublin Racing Festival. We’ll see how he comes out of Naas, at the moment he’s come out of it fine. Maybe skipping Christmas would be best. I think he’ll improve hugely from his comeback run. You think you have horses right at home until you see them in the parade ring with their number cloth on… You realise how big they are and I think there’s a lot of improvement in him.”

Lossiemouth

“She’ll begin her season in the Morgiana Hurdle before Christmas and the Dublin Racing Festival. I just want to keep her sound and in the same form she’s been in. Cheltenham and back to Punchestown is the dream anyway. All the indications are good with her. I’m happy and she’s doing everything right.”

Love Me Tender (FR)

“I was very impressed by how he jumped at Listowel. I wonder would he handle the real depths-of-winter ground? I want to go down the Grade 1 route over fences and he’s entered in the Drinmore at Fairyhouse. That would look like the place for him to go, with the ground still looking nice for him there. I wouldn’t like him on heavy ground at this point.”

Love Me Tender (GER)

“I don’t know about you, but to me, we haven’t had a novice hurdler like that for a while. Considering how middling he jumped, and Paul rode him with kid gloves around the back, the further he came up the straight, the better he was going. His jumping has to improve. When he runs in better races, I’m hoping that slower ground and the pace alone will help him to get into a better rhythm.”

Magnifico Conti

“A nice horse who won over hurdles at Auteuil in February. He’s one of those who could be a top novice, but we haven’t galloped any of them. I’m sure he’ll come out in the next month. A real nice sort by Goliath Du Berlais who should make a chaser in time.”

Majborough

“He’s declared to make his first start of the season in the Fortria Chase at Navan [today]. He’s a big unit and I’d like to know that the ground is soft enough for him to take his chance. I was disappointed with him until Tuesday this week - I was telling J.P. on the phone that it was his first good bit of work.

“I’ll have to have a chat with J.P. and Frank Berry - and maybe Harry Cobden will tell us when he rides him again - but I think he might appreciate going out in trip. The only thing is that J.P. probably has a lot of horses at two and a half miles and further, I’m not sure how many he has at two miles. Harry will probably make up his mind for him.”

Mighty Park

“He looks good and I’ve been wanting to get him out in a beginners’ chase as soon as I can [declared for the 3.18 at Navan today]. We missed our first run of the season last Christmas and I think that impacted on his campaign, because he just didn’t have the experience heading to Cheltenham - I’d love to have had another run into him before that. He’s a big unit and a very good moving horse. I’d want good, safe ground, but the way he moves and glides across the ground, he probably won’t need to have the ground very soft. I think he has so much to learn about racing and when he does that with experience over fences, I think he could improve a huge amount. I think he’s got a big engine and I’m looking forward to getting him really right over fences.”

Mister Yves

“A bumper winner in France in August. He won’t run in the first part of the season but looks a nice four-year-old by Morpheus in the Ricci colours.”

Narciso Has

“He’ll go for a beginners’ chase. We contemplated staying hurdling but he looks like a chaser and I’d rather get him off jumping. He was a good juvenile last season and unfortunately missed the latter part of the campaign. He jumps well and maybe we can get him to Leopardstown at Christmas after a beginners’ chase.”

Nick Rockett

“It’s an easy season to map out with him; starting off in the John Durkan and working his way through to the Grand National. Hopefully we get a clear run with him this year, I’ve been very happy with him now after a niggle last year. We’ve had no issues so far this season.”

Place De La Nation

“It’s not fully decided what road she goes, but she’s big enough to go chasing. Her Grade 1-winning form from Punchestown last season gives me a bit of a headache, as to whether she should go down the Mares’ Hurdle route, but she’s schooled over fences and jumps well. On my notes, I have her down for a mares’ beginners’ chase on the way to the Mares’ Chase route, and that’s probably where I will start off. If things don’t work out, I think she’s good enough to come back and be one for the Mares’ Hurdle.”

Willie Mullins has recruited another exciting batch of young horses from France ahead of the winter period \ INPHO (Morgan Treacy)

Proactif

“He’s one who has really matured. Last season, his work was good - probably not as good as I was hoping he’d be - but I think he could be over fences this year. He’s really developed into a chaser and grown. When we bought him, that’s probably where we thought he’d be as well. He’s one I’m looking forward to.”

Salvator Mundi

“He’ll go down the Champion Chase route and is another for starting off in the Hilly Way, before Christmas, the Dublin Racing Festival. Maybe we could keep them apart and go for a race in England, but over the years I haven’t been keen to travel to England before Cheltenham with any of the good horses, unless they’re in the same ownership or something like that.”

Selma De Vary

“I’m looking at her as one for the Mares’ Hurdle, but is she good enough to go the whole way and go for the Champion Hurdle? Normally those good four-year-olds are more staying hurdlers and I was half thinking of the French Champion Hurdle, although that’s over further again. For some reason, the good four-year-olds do well in that race and she’s already won her Grade 1 at Auteuil. That could be an end-of-season target for her. I think she’s a very good mare. I couldn’t understand the work I was putting into her last season, that she was doing it and taking tough races. If she’s giving herself hard races, maybe she’s not one for the Champion Hurdle, but she’s so tough and sees it out. To do what she did at Auteuil, I couldn’t believe it. Every time she gets a hard race, she’s straight into her feedpot to eat. As the season went on, I had so much more respect for her. I just hope she comes back in the same form. I don’t think you’ll see her at Christmas [or earlier]. She had a tough back-end of the season last year and I’ve given her a nice break. I don’t want to work her. We might have a race in mind for her in January.”