Willie Mullins says he views the upcoming Christmas action as a vital barometer of his horses' progress but the champion trainer will hope the Lexus Chase finally swings in his favour this Monday.
Leopardstown’s €150,000 day three festival highlight remains a glaring omission on Mullins’s Grade One CV and a notable contrast to his remarkable nine victories in February’s feature – formerly the Hennessy Gold Cup – over the same course and distance.
He isn’t short of options at changing that Lexus statistic having half a dozen of the 14 entries remaining in the race after the latest forfeit stage although both Vautour and Valseur Lido are likely to appear instead in Saturday’s King George VI Chase at Kempton.
Alternative option
Mullins has also left in the impressive
John Durkan
winner Djakadam even though Cheltenham’s Cotswold Chase at the end of January is an alternative option for last year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup runner-up.
However both Don Poli and Sir Des Champs, two of Gigginstown Stud’s seven Lexus possibles, look set to fly the Mullins flag and the trainer reckons three miles around Leopardstown on ground which is currently soft, and heavy in places, will be perfect for them.
“They are two tough horses who love a test of stamina and do their best work at the end of a race. So I think the Lexus should suit both of them. Djakadam is still in but it might be close to the John Durkan so I’ll see closer to the time,” said Mullins.
A plus point for his chances of breaking the Lexus hoodoo will be the rare absence of a cross-channel-trained entry in the Leopardstown festival’s most prestigious steeplechase.
British-trained runners have won the race seven times in the last nine years and Sir Des Champs twice finished fourth to raiders, behind Bob’s Worth in 2013 and in 2012 in a memorable finish behind Tidal Bay. Gigginstown’s Road To Riches struck for the home side last year and will defend his title.
Sir Des Champs is also one of seven left in Monday’s Grade One Squared Financial Christmas Hurdle, a race which features his stable companion Arctic Fire too.
On target
However Mullins has indicated Arctic Fire is on target for Tuesday’s Ryanair Hurdle over two miles, a race in which the trainer’s record is in marked contrast to the Lexus after Hurricane Fly’s four wins over five years.
"The plan at the moment is that Faugheen goes to Kempton and Arctic Fire and Nichols Canyon run at Leopardstown," Mullins said about his trio of Ryanair entries before outlining the importance of the festive action. "It is a barometer as to how our horses are going," he said. "There are plenty big prizes too and you need to be winning big prizes to keep ahead of the posse."
Just half a dozen entries in total remain in the €100,000 Ryanair which could see Dermot Weld’s Windsor Park, a Neptune winner at Cheltenham when Nichols Canyon was only third, make his first racecourse appearance since running on the flat at Leopardstown over ‘Champions Weekend’ in September.
Tuesday’s other Grade One is the Neville Hotels Novice Chase, a race won by Don Poli 12 months ago, and Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown team have six of the 12 entries remaining in contention, including the Drinmore winner No More Heroes.
The final day of Limerick’s Christmas festival is due to feature the €42,000 Kirkland Investment Novice Hurdle, a race boasting Grade Two status on the back of a recent roll of honour that notably includes Faugheen winning in 2013.
Willie Mullins has four of the ten entries remaining in the three-mile contest including Up For Review and the former November Handicap hero, Open Eagle.
