Willie Mullins Stable Tour

Form profile

A 175-rated chaser, he won the Gold Cup at the Cheltenham Festival in March and finished second to Kemboy in the Punchestown Gold Cup in April.

Trainer says

He’s in good shape and we’ll be hoping to get him back to the form he was in last season. As with a lot of mine, I’m happy where he is in terms of his condition at the minute, I’m just waiting for the ground to come right before I get them started back. We had to be patient in waiting for soft ground for this fella last season, so hopefully the wait won’t be as long this time around. The Cheltenham Gold Cup will obviously be his primary objective.

Form profile

A 147-rated hurdler, he won a Grade 3 novice hurdle at Clonmel in February and went on to finish in the frame in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and the equivalent contest at the Punchestown Festival.

Trainer says

He’ll go novice chasing this season and looks a real nice type for that job. He has a great style of jumping fences and looks very promising. He is a staying type and would always appreciate a good cut in the ground.

Form profile

A 148-rated hurdler, he won the Future Champions Novice Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting and was placed in three other Grade 1 novice hurdles.

Trainer says

We’re going to stay hurdling with him. My initial thought had been to go novice chasing with him, but the jockeys were keen for him to stay hurdling. We’ll send him down the Grade 1 route and see how he measures up.

Form profile

A 167-rated chaser, he won the Punchestown Gold Cup at the Punchestown Festival in 2018 and the Irish Gold Cup at the Dublin Racing Festival in February.

Trainer says

I suspect we’ll go down a similar road with him this season as we did last season. At this stage, it looks as though he just doesn’t like Cheltenham for whatever reason. Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting is likely to be his first big target.

Form profile

A 157-rated hurdler, she is unbeaten in her seven completed starts for Mullins, including the Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2018, the last two renewals of the Annie Power Mares Champion Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival and the Grande Course de Haies d'Auteuil in May.

Trainer says

The hope will be that we can get a run into her before the Cheltenham Festival this season. That had been the plan last season, but the ground just didn’t come right for her in time. We’ll stay over hurdles with her and the Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival would look the obvious target for her.

Form profile

A winning point-to-pointer, he won a Grade 2 bumper at the Dublin Racing Festival and finished second in the Champion Bumper at the Punchestown Festival in 2017/18, but missed all of last season.

Trainer says

Blackbow is back and in good form. I’d imagine he’ll go straight over hurdles. I wouldn’t like to be too bullish about what trip he’ll end up being best over, so we’ll just get him started and assess him based on what he does on the racecourse.

Form profile

Made an impressive winning debut in a bumper at Gowran Park in January and went on to finish a close second in the Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival.

Trainer says

Blue Sari will go novice hurdling this season. I would see him as more of a staying type and I think he’ll handle any ground.

Form profile

A 156-rated chaser, he won a Grade 3 novice chase at Limerick and the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse last season.

Trainer says

He is rated 156 over fences, so he’s going to have to improve some more if he’s to be a factor in Grade 1 staying chases. We’ll give him the opportunities to come up to that level and it’ll be up to him to make the leap from there. I’d be hopeful he can improve.

Form profile

A 142-rated chaser, she made it second-time lucky since joining Mullins when winning the Munster National at Limerick in October.

Trainer says

She was very good in the Munster National and the plan is to go for the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury with her.

Form profile

A 162-rated chaser, he improved over fences last season, most recently winning the Topham Handicap Chase over the Grand National fences at Aintree in April.

Trainer says

I’ll keep him to two miles and two-and-a-half miles. To be honest, he surprised me by getting the trip as well as he did in the Topham. He seems to handle most types of ground. He’s rated 162 now, so we’ll have to target Graded races with him.

Form profile

A 146-rated hurdler, he only made it to the track twice last season, winning a maiden hurdle at Limerick before finishing third in a Grade 1 novice hurdle at the Punchestown Festival.

Trainer says

He’ll go novice chasing and looks a staying type. The lack of soft ground restricted us to just two starts with him last season, so we’ll hopefully get a much fuller campaign into him this season.

Form profile

A 167-rated chaser, he made a belated winning debut for Mullins in a maiden chase at Naas in March and followed up by running out the impressive winner of the Ryanair Novice Chase at the Punchestown Festival.

Trainer says

He’s in great order and looks one for the two-mile chase division. He has been tricky to train over the years, but he is very good at the minute. What he did last season was very promising indeed. His performance at Punchestown against more experienced and accomplished rivals was particularly impressive I thought. You’d have to hope that he could improve enough to be a Queen Mother Champion Chase contender.

Form profile

A 159-rated hurdler, he made a successful seasonal and chasing debut in a maiden chase at Gowran Park in January, but missed the rest of the campaign after picking up an injury.

Trainer says

He is a bit unfortunate, as he won his only start over fences last season, then pulled a muscle that kept him out for the rest of the season, so he won’t be able to run in novice chases this season. He will lack a bit of experience, but we’ll look to get him started back in races for second-season chasers and see how he goes. He looks like one for the minimum trip for the time being.

Form profile

The winner of three of her six starts in bumpers, she most recently won the Champion Bumper at the Punchestown Festival in May.

Trainer says

She’s come back in looking very strong. She’ll go novice hurdling this season and she looks like one that should do better over hurdles than in bumpers. Given how good she was in bumpers, that is a promising thought.

Form profile

A 167-rated chaser, he was an outstanding novice chaser and made a smooth transition to open company in 2016/7, winning his first three starts until suffering a stress fracture in his pelvis when disappointing in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival. He has only got to the track on two occasions since then, most recently finishing second to Un De Sceaux at the Punchestown Festival in 2018.

Trainer says

Douvan is back in work. With his history, we are just focusing on keeping him right and hoping he stays right. It would be great to see him back on the track and we are taking it day by day with him.

Form profile

A 151-rated hurdler, he was last seen winning the Champion Novice Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival in 2018. He missed all of last season due to injury.

Trainer says

I don’t think he’s going to make it back to the track this season, which is a real pity.

Form profile

A 162-rated chaser, he won the Arkle Challenge Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival in March.

Trainer says

He was very good in the Arkle and has come back in good shape. He looks one that we’ll start off at the minimum trip this season and see where he fits in. He enjoys soft ground and we’ll wait for that before we start him back.

Form profile

Formerly trained in France, she won a conditions race over a mile-and-a-quarter at Angers in May prior to joining Mullins.

Trainer says

She’s a lovely filly that is doing some very nice work. She has come forward very quickly for me and I hope she’s strong enough to keep taking it. Looking at her this morning, she could run sooner rather than later. She’s a very nice acquisition and I’m very much looking forward to her.

Form profile

A 140-rated hurdler, she won two of her four starts over hurdles last season including a Listed mares’ novice hurdle at the Punchestown Festival.

Trainer says

She will stay over hurdles this season and she will hopefully progress into one that can run in the Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Form profile

A 140-rated hurdler, she has won two of her four starts over hurdles since joining Mullins including a Listed mares’ hurdle at Killarney in May.

Trainer says

She’s in good form and I think the plan will be to go novice chasing. I could definitely see her staying three miles.

Form profile

A 160-rated hurdler, he is a nine-time Grade 1 winner over hurdles. While he failed to win last season, he did finish third in the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Trainer says

We gave him a break over the summer and he seems back in great order. We have yet to sit down and make a firm decision, but I’d be keen to send him novice chasing. We could have gone over fences with him last season, but we decided not to. He would have loads of options in novice chases and I’d be interested to see how he gets on over them.

Form profile

Made an impressive winning debut for Colin Bowe in a point-to-point at Knockanard in February and subsequently changed hands for £300,000 later that month.

Trainer says

He’s in good form and we are just getting to know him. I haven’t made up my mind what we’ll start him in yet, but a bumper would be an obvious option. He’s a nice horse.

Form profile

A 165-rated chaser, he created an exceptional impression in winning all five of his starts as a novice chaser in 2017/18, most notably in the Arkle Challenge Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival. He failed to win in three starts last season.

Trainer says

He has come back well and is in good shape. He can probably do any job we ask him to, but we might start him off over mid-range trips and possibly try further after that. We’ll keep our options open, but whichever trip he runs over, soft ground will be a help to him. He really suffered for the lack of soft ground last season and we didn’t see the best of him as a result.

Form profile

A 151-rated chaser, he won a maiden chase at Punchestown and finished a close second in a Grade 1 novice chase at Limerick’s Christmas meeting.

Trainer says

Getabird seems to prefer going right-handed, so we’ll try to keep him going that way if we can. He’s probably one that we’d like to run around two-and-a-half miles, but he probably has the speed to drop back to two miles.

Form profile

The winner of one of his three starts on the Flat when trained in France last year after which he joined Mullins.

Trainer says

He’s in good shape. I think he might be a two miler and he’ll handle soft ground. He’s doing everything right and jumps well. I’d be hopeful he can be good enough to be a Grade 1 novice hurdler this season.

Form profile

A 177-rated chaser, he showed significant improvement last season to win the Savills Chase at Leopardstown, the Betway Bowl at Aintree and the Punchestown Gold Cup.

Trainer says

We’ll more than likely give him a similar campaign to what we did with him last season. The Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal next week is a potential starting point for him, but we’ll make a call on that closer to the time.

Form profile

A 160-rated hurdler, he was unbeaten in four starts over hurdles for Mullins last season including Grade 1 novice hurdles at the Dublin Racing Festival, Cheltenham Festival and Punchestown Festival.

Trainer says

We’re going to send him down the Champion Hurdle route. He could potentially run at Down Royal, but I think I’d rather start him off in the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown. I’m very happy with how he did over the summer.

Form profile

Formerly trained in France, she finished third on her only start over hurdles at Auteuil in April 2018 prior to joining Mullins.

Trainer says

She is owned by the same people that have Klassical Dream and I think they might have another nice one in her. I don’t want to put the mockers on her, but she’s a really lovely mare. She has done some very, very good work here. We decided not to run her last season as the ground was too quick for her and we wanted to mind her. We are really looking forward to running her this season.

Form profile

A 159-rated hurdler, she has won five of her six starts over hurdles for Willie Mullins, but could only finish fourth when well fancied for the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival last season.

Trainer says

We have decided to send her novice chasing. She’s a fine, big mare that always looked a chaser in physical terms, so we are very excited to see her jumping them. We’ve been very happy with her schooling over fences to date, she makes a very good shape over them. She is a much more mentally mature mare now than she was in her early days with me and she seems to be getting better all the time. We’ll start her off once there is a good cut in the ground.

Form profile

A 155-rated hurdler, he has finished second in the last two renewals of the Champion Hurdle.

Trainer says

The plan is to go novice chasing with him. He ended up being a little bit disappointing over hurdles last season and we tried a few different trips with him. Hopefully fences will spark him up again and he can get back to his best.

Form profile

Rated 107 on the Flat, he has won two of his three career starts including a handicap at the Curragh by 12 lengths in June.

Trainer says

He won very well on the Flat at the Curragh in June, but picked up a stress fracture that day. He had to have a three-month break after that, so I don’t think he’ll be ready to run by Christmas. He’ll go hurdling when he’s ready, more than likely in the New Year.

Form profile

A 171-rated chaser, he won the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase, the Dublin Chase at the Dublin Racing Festival and the Melling Chase at Aintree last season.

Trainer says

He’s in great shape. We have options with him from two miles to two-and-a-half miles. He was brilliant at Aintree and if we can get him back to that sort of form, he’ll have another very good season.

Form profile

A 157-rated hurdler, he was a Grade 1-winning juvenile hurdler in 2017/18 and improved again earlier this year to win a valuable handicap hurdle at the Punchestown Festival and the Prix la Barka at Auteuil in June. He most recently won a valuable handicap on the Flat at the Galway Festival.

Trainer says

He’s out for the season, unfortunately.

Form profile

A 165-rated hurdler, he has won seven of his 11 starts over hurdles including the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2018. He missed all of last season through injury.

Trainer says

He’s back in good form. We’re aiming him at the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse. We tried to mind him for Cheltenham last season, but he didn’t get there, so we are just going to kick on now while he’s sound and hopefully he’ll stay right.

Form profile

Formerly trained in France where he finished second in a Listed race on the Flat in July.

Trainer says

He’s a nice horse. He is owned by the McNeill family and it’s great to have them in the yard. He’s been gelded, so that will delay his debut for us, but he should be out after Christmas and he’s a fine horse to look forward to.

Form profile

A 158-rated chaser, he won three of his six starts over fences last season including a valuable novice handicap chase at the Punchestown Festival.

Trainer says

He might be one for mid-range or longer trips this season. I’m very happy with him after his summer break and am looking forward to getting him back on the track to see where he slots in.

Form profile

A 153-rated hurdler, he won the Champion Four-Year-Old Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival in 2018. He was set to be involved in a thrilling finish with Espoir D’Allen on his return to action at Naas last season only to fall at the final hurdle. He missed the rest of the season through injury.

Trainer says

He got a bad fall at Naas this time last year and broke his nose. I was never happy with him after that, so we left him off for the summer without running him again. He seems much better since he’s come back this season. He seems back to himself. We’ll go down the Grade 1 hurdle route with him.

Form profile

A 165-rated hurdler, he showed significant improvement this season to win the Galway Hurdle, the Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown and the Ryanair Hurdle at Leopardstown. He was brought down at the third flight in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Trainer says

He had a busy time of it last season and did well for his summer break. We were half toying with the idea of going novice chasing with him, but I’d say we’ll go down the Champion Hurdle route with him again.

Form profile

A 147-rated hurdler, she finished second in the Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and in the Annie Power Mares Champion Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival.

Trainer says

She isn’t overly big, so I wasn’t too sure if sending her novice chasing would be a good idea, but Ruby says she has as much if not more scope than any of the big horses. He thinks she’ll make a fantastic novice chaser, so that’s what we’ll do.

Form profile

A 145-rated hurdler, he was last seen winning the Cesarewitch at Newmarket in October.

Trainer says

We’re aiming him at the staying handicap in Saudi Arabia in February. We might give him a run over hurdles before then, but there’s a good chance we won’t.

Form profile

A winner on the Flat in France, he raced well without winning in three starts over hurdles for Mullins last season, most notably when fourth in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival.

Trainer says

He’s in good form here. He’s very much a hurdling type, he won’t be going chasing. He’s still a maiden over hurdles, so he should be up to winning a few races this year given the level of form he showed in juvenile hurdles last season.

Form profile

A 143-rated hurdler, he only had three starts as a novice hurdler, most notably finishing fourth in a Grade 1 at the Punchestown Festival.

Trainer says

He is going novice chasing and is one that could end up being best over two miles. He is out of a mare by Exceed And Excel that is a half-sister to Hurricane Fly, so there is plenty of natural speed there.

Form profile

A 171-rated chaser, he is a nine-time Grade 1 winner over fences that gained his latest win in the BoyleSports Champion Chase at the Punchestown Festival in April.

Trainer says

The ever-green Un De Sceaux that still thinks he’s a four-year-old! He is remarkable. He is in really great order at the minute, doing whatever he wants to do at home as usual, and I’m just hoping for loads of rain for him. He never really got his ground last season, so I think he did really well considering that. He shouldn’t be doing what he is doing at his age, he really is something else. We can’t wait to get him back to the track.

Form profile

A 158-rated chaser, he won three of his seven starts in novice chases last season including the Ryanair Gold Cup at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival.

Trainer says

He’s is good form and I wouldn’t be against trying him over longer trips this season. He might be rated a bit high for handicaps, so he’ll have to kick on in open Graded company and see how he goes.