WILLIE Mullins did not mince his words when warning that connections could begin to bypass the Cheltenham Festival if the track fails to deliver ground that he and his owners feel is suitable for the sport’s leading winter campaigners.

Asked this week about whether climate change may influence a different type of buying strategy for his string, the most successful Cheltenham Festival trainer of all time quipped: “I’m not buying into climate change, I’m a bit of a Trump man on this job. I mean, the highest temperature ever recorded in Ireland was 33.3°C at Kilkenny Castle in 1887.

“The summer of ‘76 was as warm as I can remember. I recall riding out at 5.30am in the morning and going swimming afterwards. I just think it’s a cycle. Obviously the climate is getting warmer, but we had an ice age and now we’re getting into the opposite. I don’t change my buying habits.

“Basically, buy what you think is a good horse. We console ourselves saying ‘this horse only goes on good ground’ but as my men will say, most of the festivals are run on good ground now.”

Mullins soon shifted to discuss the going presented at racing’s biggest four-day meeting, having notably withdrawn Ryanair Chase hotpot Fact To File at the 11th hour last March.

“We were giving out about Cheltenham last year. We’ve got a new clerk of the course and I’m a bit worried. There was a lot of damage done the last two days in Cheltenham last year because they hadn’t watered properly,” he explained.

“Simon Claisse [former clerk] used to. You’d know going to Cheltenham if we want to start with the word ‘soft’ in it on the Tuesday, and then depending on whether it was going to be dry or wet, whether to water or not water. J.P. [McManus] took out Fact To File, and we had significant damage from the Thursday and the Friday with some of our runners, which is not on. It needs to be checked and looked at, whether it’s the clerk of the course or whether it’s the manager or whoever does it.

“If they want the horses that race on soft ground and nice ground all winter to appear there, I think they have to produce the ground for those horses... I think it’s not good for racing if they’re going to produce what is not winter ground for winter horses. If you’re producing a different surface, that is going to bring different horses into the game.”

He added: “If that’s the way they want to go, I’d say people with the real good horses won’t just run there, and that’s my worry. If we see that trend happening, we’re going to change. I’ve seen Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, they’re not pushed about going to Cheltenham unless they have something that has to go to Cheltenham, and a lot more of my owners are heading towards Aintree or Punchestown because it’s becoming an issue.

“I was a bit annoyed that we didn’t get to run Fact To File. I mean, he was probably the banker of the week, was he? He’s a big unit. You’ve got to try and keep those horses sound.”

Drainage problem

Last January, racing at Cheltenham was delayed when a deep hole was discovered in the home straight on the hurdles track. A broken drain was cited as the most likely cause. There were no repeat of that issue during the Festival but immediately afterwards, Cheltenham cancelled its three remaining fixtures of the season “to allow for an upgrade of the drainage systems on the home straight.”

The work was completed in August, and an additional challenge for the racecourse was the extended dry spell which saw temperatures frequently and consistently peaking at 30 degrees and above between June and August.

In October clerk of the course Jon Pullin reported: “We’re very happy with how the drainage upgrade and recovery has gone”.

Noting that photographs of the parched racing surface were circulating on social media, Pullin said: “I appreciate the images of the track over the summer may have surprised some people but, as anyone with a garden will know, the last few months have been extremely hot and dry.

“However, it is normal practice for us to start watering in August, and we knew that once we started doing so the turf would come to life and the racecourse would look like its old self again.”

Cheltenham’s Showcase meeting in October passed off without incident - the official going was good to soft on day one, good on day two, changing to good to soft after rain.

More non-runners

Ground conditions remained a significant issue at Cheltenham yesterday. The going was officially good for the first day of the November meeting but champion jockey Sean Bowen and others described it as on the ‘quick’ or ‘firm’ side of good.

A number of horses were withdrawn due to the ground but the majority of stakeholders were not critical of the racecourse’s efforts to provide safe ground, instead pointing to the lack of rain in the area in recent weeks.

While Pullin said he desperately wanted to water the track after Friday’s racing he was concerned that his intentions would be hindered by low temperatures.

As a result it is anticipated that there will be a slew of non-runners at Cheltenham on Saturday and Sunday. Already, Madara has been taken out of the Paddy Power Gold Cup and Kadral Du Mathan withdrawn from the Grade 2 novice chase.