The first weekend in February is always interesting for UK jumps racing. Punters will invariably look to Ireland and the Dublin Racing Festival for clues on March’s showcase at Cheltenham. While there are plenty of trainers to track at the Dublin meeting – Gordon Elliott, Henry de Bromhead – the word “Mullins” is on everyone’s lips. Willie Mullins’ winning production line sees no sign of stalling. It’s become an existential question for Irish – and, crucially, British – horse racing.
Over the weekend of 1st February, the running joke among the Irish racing media was whether the name of the festival should be changed to the Mullins Racing Festival. He had the favourites in the majority of Grade 1 events, and, in most cases, he duly obliged. Perhaps what sums up his dominance was in one of the marquee races, the Grade 1 Irish Champion Hurdle. Mullins had the hot favourite, Lossiemouth, but the mare fell on the fourth hurdle. For Mullins, though, it didn’t really matter, as he had the second favourite, State Man, who duly obliged in Lossiemouth’s stead.
While the Dublin Festival has become a brilliant horse racing event in its own right, its role as a pointer for the Cheltenham Festival (11th-14th March) is important. The fact Mullins took six of the top eight races at Leopardstown will not have gone unnoticed. It was not quite the clean sweep that he achieved last year, but it remains an ominous warning sign for those looking for glory at Cheltenham next month.
Mullins’ name dominates Cheltenham betting buzz
Mullins’ horses are clearly a key driver of the horse racing betting markets in the lead-up to Cheltenham. In the Gold Cup, he has the odds-on favourite, Galopin des Champs, going for a hat-trick. State Man and Lossiemouth will be in the betting mix for the Champion Hurdle. Kopek Des Bordes looks like one for the future and is a clear favorite in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. Ballyburn will almost certainly be the favourite in the race where Mullins decides to put him. Maughreen looks like yet another superstar mare to come from the Closutton Yard.
The problem for Mullins’ rivals is that the above is only a small slice of the strength he will bring to Cheltenham next month. On average, he has won about a quarter of the 28 races held at each festival over the last five years. For punters, it’s a question of weighing up the value of backing Mullins’ horses. A horse like Galopin des Champs is one of the best long-distance chasers of this generation, but taking odds of 4-6 for any horse in the bruising Cheltenham Gold Cup is not always an attractive proposition.
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Of course, it’s clear that Mullins will not have everything his own way. Much has been made of the dominance of Irish trainers in recent years. Gordon Elliott will always be well-backed by bettors in the handicap races. And Henry de Bromhead and regular jockey Rachel Blackmore have a knack for pulling big wins out of the bag. On the British side, Nicky Henderson’s stable looks rejuvenated after a terrible 2024. His star charge, Constitution Hill, is the shortest price of any horse in the ante-post betting, at just 1/2 for the Champion Hurdle.
Yet, punters’ eyes will inevitably be drawn to Mullins. The Irish trainer has been the biggest story of the Cheltenham Festival in recent years. If Mullins does what punters expect, the bookies could have a bad week.
