GIVEN that with each passing year, and the advent of Artificial Intelligence, and we are led to believe that us journalists are becoming less of a requirement – I decided I’d ask an AI site if one William P Mullins could be described as a great horse trainer.

The answer came rapidly: “Willie Mullins has become one of the most dominant names in training. His unwavering commitment to excellence has reshaped the landscape of Irish horse racing. He has influenced generations of horse racing enthusiasts and professionals. In summary, Wilie Mullins is not only a good trainer but a legendary figure in the equestrian world leaving an enduring impact on the sport.”

There you go, need I say more? Well, you don’t really have to say anything. Just stand before the Mullins team at work before the big Punchestown Festival. Read the names of the horses – 16 are on parade, 14 of them are recent Grade 1 winners.

Once again, the Champion Hurdle, Gold Cup winners are here and preparing to appear at the Punchestown Festival which begins on April 30th with €3.5 million in prize money up for grabs.

And it’s the same morning that the Grand National winner I Am Maximus graces the daily papers after his homecoming in Leighlinbridge the previous evening.

“One big might be too much?“ Willie asked of a rider preparing to gallop a circuit. You sense ‘one big’ might be too much for quite a few this morning. Patrick comments too, “We were celebrating last night, we have been fresher!”

Astounding

The stable tally for the year is quite astounding. The Irish trainers’ title, chances of landing the same across the water, Paul Townend in the fight for his jockeys’ title – but it’s the horses that make for spell-binding success.

All eight of the Grade 1s at the Dublin Racing Festival, eight of the 14 Grade 1 championships races at Cheltenham, chip in a few more Grade 1s at Aintree and the greatest race in the Grand National also in the bag. He is on target to break his own number of Grade 1s won in a season with 12 more top level races in Punchestown the week after next. And on track to become the winningmost Irish trainer in history.

With Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown nicely spread out this season, Mullins professes himself “very happy with the way the whole string has put on condition, I was looking at them this morning and looking at the coats they have on them and the flesh they’ve put on since Cheltenham, I was really pleased.

“If they are fit, they run, while sound and well. With the lifespan of a jumping horse, you are only going to get four to five years out of them but they could miss one of those with injury. With good prize money, run, take your chance, he’s not going to earn any money in his stable.”

Punchestown plans

Some of the Punchestown targets speak for themselves. State Man in the Boodles Champion Hurdle will likely be joined by Impaire Et Passe while Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs will bid to end a fantastic season with a fifth Grade 1 and avenge last season’s defeat.

The trainer said on his star chaser: “It’s going to be tough for him. He got beaten there last year, but I think the two, the Paul Nicholls horse and himself, went at it very early and the other horse came and robbed them. Paul (Townend) might just use different tactics and the horse seems good.

“Galopin Des Champs turns up every day and runs a race and has had many runs this season. I’ve seen horses that are hardy, willing and turn up end up being very good horses because the good ones sometimes get injured and are not able to turn up every day – we’ve seen that this year with one horse in particular.

“State Man (also seeking his fifth Grade 1 of the season) turns up every day and wins all those Grade 1s and if you’re the owner, trainer or jockey, they’re the ones you want to be on – good, hardy, sound horses.”

Dinoblue may take up the mantle in Tuesday’s two-mile Grade 1 William Hill Champion Chase. There is a keen sense of unfinished business from her Cheltenham defeat in the Mares’ Chase.

Lossiemouth has a Boodles Champion Hurdle entry but will target the Grade 1 Coolmore N.H. Sires Bolshoi Ballet Irish EBF Mares Champion Hurdle, with the trainer speaking highly of the Ricci-owned mare, who has only had the two races this year.

“The juveniles had a hard spring last year, we gave them a little more time off. When you look at Lossiemouth on the track you think she’s a little grey mare, but when you stand into her you get a fright.

Well proportioned

“It’s always a good sign when you look at a horse and think they’re a normal size but then when you stand in they’re much bigger, it just shows how well proportioned they are.” Earlier plans for her to go to France this spring are now unlikely.

Mullins is particularly taken by the season’s leading novice hurdler Ballyburn who again has two Punchestown options in the Tuesday’s Grade 1 KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle or the longer Grade 1 Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle on Friday.

Ballyburn routed his Cheltenham rivals in the Grade 1 two-mile-five-furlong Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle and has two options at Punchestown, in the two-mile KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle and the longer Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle.

Mullins said: “He impressed me hugely in Cheltenham – everyone was raving about him after his couple of wins in Ireland and I thought he was a good novice, but I thought he was way more than that when I saw the way he went up the hill at Cheltenham. He can go any trip so we will leave that until later on, we’ll see how the races pan out.

“Ballyburn looks a really good horse – what he did, I would be comparing him to Faugheen or Vautour, that was the sort of performance he put in for me at Cheltenham.”

Tullyhill has the same options as Ballyburn but was disappointing when sent off favourite for the Supreme. Mullins said: “I imagine Tullyhill will go, he’s a winner round Punchestown and he was in some form on the gallop this morning. He was very disappointing (at Cheltenham), Paul said he went out like a light. We didn’t find anything wrong with him but he just wasn’t up to scratch on the day. Hopefully he comes back to himself at Punchestown and we’ll sort out his target closer to the time.”

Mystical Power, Mirazur West (will make a nice novice chaser) and Asian Master are also in the novice hurdle mix.

The latter is more likely for the longer race with Mullins musing over that he ran in the wrong novice at Cheltenham. A novice chasing career next season is one to look forward to but first “Mrs Costello wants to go to Punchestown.”

Dancing City has two Grade 1s to his name. “Stepping up to three miles has made a huge difference to him. He’s entered in the Grade 1 Channor Group Novice Hurdle and we’d like to run there if he’s in good form.”

Novice chasers

Cheltenham winner Gaelic Warrior and Liverpool victor, Il Etait Temps, head the novice chasers.

Gaelic Warrior has the option of Punchestown’s Barberstown Castle Novice Chase with a trip to Sandown also being considered.

Mullins said: “Gaelic Warrior always looked very, very good but that form got a huge boost and it would be nice going to Punchestown with that, but I think he holds an entry in Sandown, so we’ll see how things go but I’d like to go to Punchestown with him.

“He just lost the plot a bit at Leopardstown. There was a lot of music there that day and I don’t think he wanted to face the music! But there was a TV stand outside the weigh room and Ruby thought that was what he was afraid of.”

Il Etait Temps is pencilled in for a quick return to action in Barberstown Castle Novice Chase. Mullins said: “I thought in Aintree he settled well and jumped well and he’s becoming more the finished article. I just thought when I saw him walking round the parade ring, I’ve never seen a horse move so well. The way he was striding out at a walk, covering so much ground, he impressed me before the race. The break he got after Cheltenham, he just relaxed.

“He obviously performed well twice in Leopardstown and then now in Aintree, so maybe just a flatter surface does do it for him and maybe a little better ground as well, though it was soft enough in Aintree.”

Jasmin De Vaux was a landmark 100th Cheltenham Festival winner when claiming the Champion Bumper and he is in the Race & Stay At Punchestown Champion I.N.H. Flat Race.

Kargese could have another bite of the Grade 1 cherry in the Ballymore Champion Four Year Old Hurdle after finishing second at Cheltenham and Aintree. “Kargese has some engine, she pulls so hard. We’re going to have to change a few things about her as if we can get her to settle in a race, she is a real machine.”

Sandown plans

If any horse might want to be skulking out the back it’s El Fabiolo who let the side down and left the other big championship race, the Champion Chase behind him at the Festival.

But he could play a key role yet as he looks set (at this moment) to be sent to Sandown as the leader of that pack to attempt to snatch the British champion trainers’ title.

“He just wasn’t right when he came back from Cheltenham, so I just gave him a break and let him find his feet, so he’s bucking and kicking the last few mornings. The Celebration Chase is an important race and it looks like a big race that we have the winning of, which would be huge.

“A lot will depend on what happens between now and Punchestown, (but) looking at it, we’re about £50,000 in front, so if we won that (Celebration Chase), one of the other guys would have to win another feature and probably another race to pass us.

Future plans

There was news of a few absentees. Cheltenham Grade 1 winners Majborough and Fact Or File are on their summer holidays, off to Costa del Martinstown. The former is earmarked for a novice chase career next season. Readin Tommy Wrong is sidelined by injury.

Grade 1-winning mare Ashroe Diamond is shortly off to stud, a Blue Bresil offspring expected next year, though she may have one last run in the Mares Hurdle.

Absurde is in Tuesday’s KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle and has handicap options but owners. the H O S Syndicate. have Melbourne intentions again with maybe a step up to Group 1 class for the Caulfield Cup also something to chase.

And another name to crop up was Ferny Hollow, still in training with the intention of keeping going as long as he is well. Where might the intention be for him? Galway no less! You didn’t guess that one.

Mullins on...

Winning the Grand National

“When Hedgehunter won the Grand National I was on a high for a year. The National is just special to top it all.” And on his second winner of the race? “We don’t know how good he is.” But he has his quirks. “We were afraid of our lives. We brought down Galopin Des Champs, State Man and Jasmin Des Vaux (to Leighlinbridge) We were in the carpark til 7 o’clock with kids running in around them, getting pictures. But yer man, we had security, our own staff all around. Then in front of the hotel he just reared up.”

The British trainers’ title

“The goodwill has been amazing. It was amazing coming home from Aintree, the amount of texts and phone calls I got from my owners to say ‘if you want to bring my horse to Ayr, Perth or wherever do that’. They’re really behind it, they’re part of the team and want to be part of it if it’s going to happen.

“We’re getting huge goodwill, especially from a lot of people across the water. They’re saying it’s adding a bit of spice to the end of the season and it’s a once in a lifetime achievement if we can manage to pull it off, so we’re going to put everything into it. Paul [Nicholls] is really a master of winning the championship, he keeps horses for it.”

Paul Townend availability

“Paul has his own championship to try and win. I won’t be standing in his way if he wants to stay in Ireland. We are lucky enough we have a good team of jockeys here.”