WILLIE MULLINS
ANNIE POWER
8yo ch m (1F-1111)
Betdaq Champion Hurdle
Annie Power looks fine and is likely to go to Punchestown as it would be only her fourth run of the season. She appears fine after Aintree and unless something pops up in the meantime, she’ll go there. The Champion Hurdle might come a little soon for the likes of Nichols Canyon, but Punchestown is the last big festival of the season, so I’ll be doing my best to get them all there as it is traditionally a very lucky festival for us.
VAUTOUR
7yo b g (11-121F)
DJAKADAM
7yo b g (2-21F23)
DON POLI
7yo b g (1-51132)
Bibby Financial Services Ireland Punchestown Gold Cup
There is a very good chance that Vautour will go to Punchestown. He will have an easy time of things over the next few days but he is as fit as a flea and as long as he is sparking at home, we’ll let him take his chance. It is shaping up to be a fantastic race. I will be doing my best to get Djakadam and Don Poli to Punchestown as well. Don Poli is a fair old soldier and he could easily go there whereas I’d have to see about Djakadm. If I can get them there I will.
DOUVAN
6yo b g (111111)
Ryanair Novice Chase
I didn’t feel that Douvan jumped as well as he can in the early stages at Aintree. Maybe something will materialise in the coming days. But the plan is to get him there. We’ll see how he comes out of Aintree. Paul said as he warmed into the race, the better his jumping was getting. There was another front-runner in the race and Paul hadn’t ridden him in a race before and it is very hard to get up on a horse like that when he’s that sort of price and do things right as you ride him. He didn’t want to make the running at the pace they were going. When Paul let him stride on, he jumped better and he knows the horse now. We’ll see how the horse is closer to the time, but the plan is to get him to Punchestown.
APPLE’S JADE
4yo b f (1121)
KOSHARI
4yo br g (51)
AES Champion 4YO Hurdle
Apple’s Jade was a revelation at Aintree. She won her first ever start at Leopardstown over Christmas and then she had some training problems and obviously didn’t go to Cheltenham as straight as we’d like to have her. That run in Cheltenham obviously brought her on. She was extraordinary with the performance she put in. The 4YO Hurdle would look more likely for her with Limini going for the Mares’ Champion Hurdle, I would say. Koshari is a nice horse that came to us from France that has to run for us yet. He has won in France, but we haven’t had time to get him out yet and he is possibly worth a look at.
YORKHILL
6yo ch g (11111)
BELLSHILL
6yo b g (11302)
Herald Champion Novice Hurdle
Yorkhill looks the one for the two mile Novice Hurdle providing he recovers from Aintree but I’m sure he will. He’s a good eater and drinks well so all he needs to do is rest and eat well and I’d certainly like to get him there anyway. Bellshill seems fine after Aintree and I’d imagine that he will go for either the two and a half or the three mile novice hurdle.
FELIX YONGER
10yo b g (1311P)
TWINLIGHT
9yo b g (6PP52P)
UN DE SCEAUX
8yo b g (1-1F12)
BoyleSports Champion Chase
Felix Yonger won the Champion Chase last year and will go back for that race again. Twinlight actually amazed me this morning going around with Thousand Stars. It is the first time I have seen Twinlight show a spark all year and he has been a little disappointing on the track. Un De Sceaux is in the race but he is also in the Celebration Chase at Sandown. We’ll see what Sprinter Sacre is doing first. He is the one horse that might go to England, but either way we’ll be well represented in the race.
THOUSAND STARS
12yo gr g (26751)
Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle
Thousand Stars could go there. Dick, our head man, rides him all the time at home, but he never impresses me at home, but today was his first time out on grass and he was in great form. Hopefully he’ll come back here for the three mile race.
GORDON ELLIOTT
DON COSSACK
9yo br g (111F11)
Bibby Financial Services Ireland Punchestown Gold Cup
Obviously it looks like being a very good renewal of the Punchestown Gold Cup with Cue Card coming over and whatever Willie is going to run in it, but Don Cossack is in good form and I couldn’t be happier with him, to be honest. Since the Gold Cup he has just been doing routine canters every day and this morning was the first day he has been away and stretched his legs properly. He’ll do one more good bit of work away from home and that’ll be him. It’ll be an amazing race.
DIAMOND KING
8yo b g (P-4211)
Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle
Diamond King is entered in the Champion Hurdle and the Stayers Hurdle and he also has an option at Sandown, but Grahame and Diana Whateley are keen to come to Punchestown, so he probably will turn up there. It would be very hard to see him winning, but the prize money is that good in Punchestown that if we finished second or third we’d be thrilled.
TOMBSTONE
6yo ch g (11224)
Herald Champion Novice Hurdle
Tombstone is entered in all three of the novice races and I’ll have to talk to Michael and Eddie as they have so many horses and will want to split them up.
CAUSE OF CAUSES
8yo b g (8-0051)
Cause Of Causes is an amazing little horse that won for us at Cheltenham and he missed the cut at Aintree, but that might have been for luck with the way the ground went. He’ll be entered in the handicaps and we’ll see what the ground is like because that makes all the difference to him. He’s only an eight-year-old and he’ll have a few options.
NOBLE ENDEAVOR
7yo b g (2312F)
I’m not sure what race Noble Endeavor will go for, but he’ll definitely go to Punchestown. Jumping is the name of the game and it was unfortunate that he fell at Cheltenham because Jamie Codd felt he had a lot left in him. He works very well at home and there is a big race in him somewhere and I’d say he’ll definitely win a staying chase somewhere along the way.
ESHTIAAL
6yo b g F (3510-1) NH (1112)
Eshtiaal was second in the American Grand National and we took him out of Aintree on account of the ground, but if we get nice ground he’ll go for a handicap. We’ll have loads of horses for the handicaps and
HARDLINE
4yo b g NH (1)
One horse to keep an eye on is Hardline who won his point-to-point for Pat Doyle and he is a nice horse and the chances are that he’ll go for the Land Rover Bumper. If the ground came up okay, he’ll have a very, very good chance in that race.
AIDAN/JOSEPH O’BRIEN
ASPEN COLORADO
4yo b g (11)
attheraces.com Champion INH Flat Race
Aspen Colorado will hopefully go for the Champion Bumper if the ground is ok. We brought him to Punchestown as he obviously hasn’t run in a while and it’s nice to get him to the track and stretch his legs. All being well he will run in the bumper once the ground is right but everything is being geared towards novice hurdling for him. It was an easy enough decision to bypass Cheltenham with him as he is only four and with the exception of Cue Card, it can be a hard race on four-year-olds.
SLOWMOTION
4yo br f NH (121) F (5/77-)
Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Champion Hurdle/AES Champion 4YO Hurdle
Slowmotion is a filly that won at Fairyhouse over Easter and she might line-up somewhere. We have her in the Mares’ Hurdle and the 4YO Hurdle as well as the two and a half mile novice hurdle. She has no problem with soft ground even though she got beat in Limerick. We probably left her a little bit short for that run and she probably got a bit tired on tacky ground. She seems to have come out of Easter very well and she could be anything at this stage. She is working very well and she is an exciting filly.
IVANOVICH GORBATOV
4yo b g NH (1412) F (3/11-)
AES Champion 4YO Hurdle
We’ll see how Ivanovich Gorbatov comes out of his run at Aintree last week and a decision will be made about him closer to the time. He still ran a nice race at Aintree. Barry said he was struggling from quite a way out and obviously the ground wouldn’t have been ideal, but we were well beaten at the same time. J.P. and Frank will discuss it, but there’s no doubt that he is better on better ground and whether that brings about enough improvement remains to be seen.
COLIN TIZZARD
CUE CARD
10yo b g (4111F1)
Bibby Financial Services Ireland Punchestown Gold Cup
The plan always was to go on to Punchestown with Cue Card and I don’t see any reason to change that.
He fell at Cheltenham and mentally he didn’t have a hard race. He also didn’t have too hard a race at Aintree and he’s come out of it all fine. From three out to two out at Aintree he came through a gap and came eight lengths clear without ever seeming to do too much. He’s in the form of his life so there’s no reason not to go.
THISTLECRACK
8yo b g (211111)
Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle
Thistlecrack was very good at Aintree and I don’t see any reason for him not to go to Punchestown. He has had a light season and assuming the ground is nice and he is in good shape, he’ll go to Punchestown.