If a week is a long time in politics, then three racing days can prove to be an eternity after Willie Mullins duly ended Leopardstown’s Christmas festival in his customary dominant position on Friday.
The champion trainer completed a 17-2 hat-trick that included both Grade One prizes, topped by State Man’s Matheson Hurdle victory when beating his stable companions Impaire Et Passe and Echoes In Rain.
Earlier Paul Townend scored on Grangeclare West in the Neville Hotels Novice Chase, while Ballyburn is a new Cheltenham Festival favourite after an impressive maiden success.
It all felt a world away from St Stephen’s Day when an opening-session blank for Mullins proved almost as noteworthy as any winner.
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That way too much got read into it was underlined by how quickly normal service resumed, most notably with Galopin Des Champs’ spectacular Savills Chase victory.
The sport’s prepotent figure wound up the Christmas action with 16 winners between Leopardstown and Limerick.
That such stratospheric standards get presumed upon underlines the task Gordon Elliott & Co have in trying to dethrone Mullins as his massive team starts to hit top gear going into the new year.
In fact, it felt like the only slight bump in the road over 72 hours was the ridiculous brouhaha over Patrick and Danny Mullins exchanging pleasantries so publicly after Gaelic Warrior’s Grade One victory at Limerick on Thursday.
The storm in a teacup prompted by TV comments from an unusually indiscreet Patrick Mullins after apparently being ‘defied’ by his cousin has resulted in a referral to a senior regulatory official which is long odds-on to be ultimately categorised as a futile exercise in optics.
“Lots of fellas say things to other players coming off the pitch, don’t they, and it never gets referred on. I don’t know why this was,” Mullins Snr said, attempting to play down the revelation that jockeys – even cousins – talk to each other before races and can get upset with each other.
“Danny tried to win on his horse for his owner. He played the cards that he thought was best for him, that’s about it. My two riders were doing their best, and I’m sure American Mike was doing his best, and that was it. I didn’t see anything wrong with it anyway,” he added.
State Man’s own instincts always appear to be towards the underplayed and even a seventh career Grade One won’t remove him from Constitution Hill’s shadow.
Domestically, however, he proved his status as Ireland’s top two-mile hurdler with another display of understated excellence in Friday’s big race.
Once past the outsider Fils D’oudairies, he quickened up the straight with Impaire Et Passe never looking likely to overhaul the 4-7 favourite.
State Man had the thankless task of chasing up Constitution Hill in last season’s Champion Hurdle and is 4-1 to pull off the apparently unlikely feat of reversing that form.
Mullins believes the horse has improved again, though, and said: “State Man showed tremendous gears today. Daryl [Jacob] came in on Impaire Et Passe and said ‘we quickened twice and then Paul quickened away again a third time’.
“Daryl thought he maybe had Paul where he wanted him at the second-last and he said he quickened twice between the last two and Paul went away again. Testing conditions might really suit him – so we will be praying for rain over Cheltenham!”
Grangeclare West is also 4-1 with some firms for Cheltenham, in his case for the Brown Advisory after a startlingly impressive victory over Corbetts Cross and Flooring Porter.
Having tapered off after an impressive first start last season, the Cheveley Park-owned star looks a much more finished article this time and wasn’t extended to win at the top level for the first time by six lengths.
“I didn’t expect that now – I thought he would run well, but that was a top race,” Mullins admitted.
“Paul was worried about him pulling too hard and he’d want to be as fit as he is because he just pulled his arms out for the three miles. To do that, on that ground, and win like that going away was a huge performance.
“His jumping was excellent. He just came out of Paul’s hands at the first fence and from then on Paul was just trying to settle him back. He got him back jumping normally. He’s just a natural chaser.
“He might go for the Brown Advisory and Fact To File might go for the Turners. We’ll see – it is a nice problem to have,” he added.
Ballyburn tops betting lists for Cheltenham’s Ballymore after relishing a step up in trip to break his maiden at 2-9 odds.
“You’d be thinking he is more of a 2½-mile horse,” Mullins said. “He appears keen, but it is just the way he carries his head low. He said every time he gave him a little feel on the reins, he came back underneath him. I’m very happy that the horse is learning all the time.”
Gordon Elliott wound up the Leopardstown festival with a seventh winner of the week as Jalon D’oudairies held off the Mullins favourite Redemption Day in the bumper.
Elliott, who also had winner at Limerick this week, scooped three of Leopardstown’s Grade Ones and top-flight targets are in Jalon D’oudairies future after the expensive purchase (£420,000) made it two from two on the track.
“He is our Cheltenham bumper horse. I thought he showed some attitude to have to make the running, we didn’t really want to. What I loved from two furlongs to the pole was hands and heels and he just stretched the whole way,” Elliott said.
Friday’s official final day Christmas festival attendance of 11,804 brought overall crowd levels at Leopardstown this week to 62,049. That was an increase from last year’s figure of 60,478 which was the first post-pandemic festival with unrestricted access.
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