A Mullins Treble Puts Cheltenham Century in Reach

CHELTENHAM, UK — The biggest cheer all day at Cheltenham came from the Ascot crowd. Sir Francis Brooke, first Her Majesty's and now His Majesty's Representative at Ascot was engulfed by back-slappers and well-wishers as the horse he owns with Richard Pilkington, Chianti Classico (Ire) (Shantou {Ire}), ground his way through the extended three miles of the Ultima Handicap Chase to provide the sole strike for Britain on a day dominated – predictably – by Willie Mullins. 

Chianti Classico's trainer Kim Bailey has had his share of Cheltenham glory but those high days were almost 30 years ago when, in 1995, Alderbrook (GB) took the Champion Hurdle followed two days later by the victory of Master Oats (GB) in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the maestro Norman Williamson in the saddle for both. 

That was in the days when it seemed that the spoils were more evenly spread, and Bailey claiming two of the championship races in the same year was big news. Now, Mullins does that with regularity and the winner's enclosure on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival was again frequently occupied by his horses.

There seemed little doubt, barring the vagaries of luck in running, that State Man (Fr) (Doctor Dino {Fr}) would carry off the G1 Unibet Champion Hurdle once Constitution Hill (GB) (Blue Bresil {Fr}) had been ruled out last week. The latter is the only horse who has been able to tame State Man in his last 12 races, when, on this day last year, Constitution Hill handed him a nine-length drubbing in this same race. 

“You've got to turn up to win a Champion Hurdle. We turned up,” said Mullins, unable to resist a a gentle sideswipe at those constantly comparing his fifth Champion Hurdle winner to the rather more flamboyant absentee. 

“There's no wow factor with State Man,” he said of the seven-year-old. “And you don't go 'wow' when you look at him either, but he does what it says on the tin. He's that type of horse. It's very hard to be wow in that ground, but he's a good solid, sound horse and he just gives his running every time.”

There is a rather bigger wow attached to the lovely five-year-old mare Lossiemouth (Fr) (Great Pretender {Ire}), who prowled round the parade ring, cruised around racecourse, making light work of the heavy turf, then returned to claim her second prize on Cheltenham's main stage. She has only been beaten once in her life and we will surely see her in the Champion Hurdle in years to come but, having taken last year's G1 JCB Triumph Hurdle it was plainly the right decision to keep her among her own sex in the G1 Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle. The sheer depth of that race in recent years is testament to the fact that it is doing exactly what is was introduced to do, and that is to encourage owners to buy and race mares.

“You can say anything you want to in hindsight,” said Lossiemouth's owner Rich Ricci. “We had a plan and we stuck to it. Hopefully we'll be able to do it next year. We've won the Mares' [Hurdle], it's a Grade 1 and I'm delighted.”

It was in fact double delight for Ricci and his wife Susannah, whose colours had already been borne to victory by Gaelic Warrior (Ger) (Maxios {GB}), who had started the ball rolling for Mullins with victory in the G1 Arkle Novices' Chase. This provided a rare top-level winner over fences for the breeding operation of the Niarchos family. He'd been sold by them for only €9,000 as a yearling in Germany and thus became the first of two BBAG September Yearling Sale graduates to strike at Cheltenham on Tuesday. He is one of the standout performers, along with former Triumph Hurdle winner Quilixios (GB), for his sire Maxios, and his breeding is Niarchos through and through, with his first two dams and damsire Hernando (Fr) having also been bred by the family. 

Incidentally, lovers of racing trivia may recall that Maxios's half-brother, the Arc winner Bago (Fr), was responsible for the only horse ever to have carried the Niarchos colours on a Henry Cecil runner at Cheltenham when his son Plato (Jpn) won the 2011 St Patrick's Day Derby under Lorna Fowler, whose first runner as a trainer in the Champion Hurdle this year, Colonel Mustard (Ger) ran an honourable fifth.

It is now the norm for Irish-trained horses to have the upper hand at Cheltenham, and Henry de Bromhead, Joseph O'Brien and Emmet Mullins also wrote their names on the first-day scoresheet.

First blood went the way of de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore in the G1 Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle when Slade Steel (Ire) outbattled Mystical Power (Ire) up the hill. The latter has the bloodlines to excel on the Flat or over jumps, as he is by Galileo (Ire) out of the brilliant Champion Hurdler Annie Power (Ire), but it was Galileo's son Telescope (Ire) who provided the winner. Though born in Ireland at Ballincurrig House Stud, Slade Steel was bred by British breeder Dena Merson, who joins an elite group to have bred a winner at both the Cheltenham Festival and Royal Ascot. The two horses are related, too, as the 2008 Ascot Stakes winner Missoula (Ire) (Kalanisi {Ire}) is a half-sister to Slade Steel's dam Mariet (GB) (Dr Fong). 

The cousins Joseph O'Brien and JJ Slevin combined for their second joint-Festival win with Lark In The Mornin (Ger) in the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle. The son of Soldier Hollow (GB) may not be one of the main poster boys for the breeze-up sales but he adds an extra level of versatility to the list of graduates from that division, having been bought at BBAG by Tom Whitehead for €28,000 and resold through his Powerstown Stud for 130,000gns at the Tattersalls Guineas Sale. Also the winner of Listowel mile maiden on debut at two, Lark In The Mornin was bred by Gestut Hof Ittlingen out of Loyalty Ger), a mare by their G1 Japan Cup winner Lando (Ger).

Emmet Mullins, who runs his Grand National winner Noble Yeats (Ire) (Yeats {Ire}) in Thursday's G1 Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle, claimed Tuesday's finale, named in honour of his grandmother, who died last month. The Maureen Mullins National Hunt Challenge Cup saw the widest-margin winner of the day when JP McManus's Corbetts Cross (Ire) (Gamut {Ire}) shot clear by 17 lengths in the hands of Derek O'Connor.

“It was a great honour and a privilege for The Jockey Club to name the race after Mrs Mullins, granny, and it's extra special to win it,” said Mullins.

But the day really belonged to Emmet's Uncle Willie, who, with Lossiemouth, recorded a 97th Festival win. Don't bet against him getting a hundred up before the week is out, and there would perhaps be no more appropriate way to do so than in the hundredth running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday. Conveniently, and totally unsurprisingly, Willie Mullins has the favourite for that race, too.

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‘State Man Must Win’ – Q&A With Haras de Saint-Voir Boss Nicolas de Lageneste

There are few more respected figures in French National Hunt racing than Nicolas de Lageneste. 

It seems as though everything de Lageneste turns his hand to, be that breeding, training or simply owning racehorses, it is a success.

Last year he completed the rare achievement of being crowned champion National Hunt owner and breeder in the same season. Nobody has ever done that before. 

Fewer still would be capable of nurturing a horse like Il Est Francais (Fr) (Karaktar {Ire}). Not only did de Lageneste breed the superstar chaser, who could be on course for next year's Gold Cup, but he also sourced the stallion, Karaktar, who is tipped to be the next big thing in National Hunt racing in France. 

The cherry on top is the fact that Haras de Saint-Voir remain involved in the ownership of Il Est Francais, who de Lageneste compares favourably with former star graduate Vautour (Fr) (Robin Des Champs {Fr}).

De Lageneste has built up a particularly strong relationship with Champion National Hunt trainer in Ireland Willie Mullins in recent years and Tuesday's short-priced Champion Hurdle favourite State Man (Fr) (Doctor Dino {Fr}) will be bidding to fly the flag for Haras de Saint-Voir on the big stage again.

From breeding top-class National Hunt stallion Saint Des Saints (Fr), to his association with Mullins and his hopes for Cheltenham and beyond, de Lageneste makes for a fascinating Q&A.

State Man: will fly the flag for de Lageneste in the Champion Hurdle | Racingfotos.com

You became the first person in French National Hunt history to be crowned leading breeder and owner in 2023. What did that mean to you?

It gave me great satisfaction and in many ways it was a consecration of our breeding at Haras de Saint-Voir.

I can only imagine that Il Est Francais (Fr) (Karaktar {Ire}) was the highlight of last year for you. He was sublime at Kempton. How difficult of a decision was it to bypass Cheltenham with him or was the Grand Steeple Chase de Paris always Plan A?

For over two years now the plan has always been to run and try to win the Grand Steeple Chase de Paris. He has never had to fight in a race and we thought that he needed to be battle hardened in order to run in a Cheltenham Gold Cup. We have respected him since the beginning of his career, knowing that he was outstanding and a horse for the biggest challenges. Who knows what next year will bring. 

Assuming all goes well at Auteuil, what could be in store for the horse next year? I presume the King George and the Cheltenham Gold Cup will come under consideration?

Exactly. He will go back to Kempton in December and if everything keeps going well for him, we could think about that great expedition in March 2025. 

You are famous for taking a chance on little known sires and making them famous. Tell us a little bit more about why you decided to back Karaktar (Ire)?

I like to buy stallion shares when I am impressed by horses on the track. Karaktar had been so impressive at the beginning of his three-year-old career before running in the French Derby and showed great ability and fantastic movement. He got hurt in the French Derby but Alain de Royer Dupré, a great horseman, liked him so much and was still thinking about the Arc de Triomphe for him. Unfortunately, he met with another problem and his trainer never found a way to get him back. We bought him for €110,000 in a sale for horses-in-training and he has turned out to be a great success. I sent him some good mares for the first season and I am rewarded today. When you really believe in something, give it your all for the chance to be successful. That's my approach to breeding. Karaktar is for sure going to be the next top National Hunt stallion in Europe, as his book of mares has been improving a lot in only the last two seasons, and he covered 243 mares last year.

Most people will know you as the breeder of Saint Des Saints. He is making a pretty emphatic mark on the National Hunt breed. That must provide you with huge satisfaction?

Oh yes. That's another great satisfaction. I had bought the mare of Saint Des Saints for about €2,000 in a liquidation sale in a supplement of a catalogue at 9pm in Deauville. She was a Group 2 winner but was quite old and had a poor career as broodmare. She was a bad milker and, unfortunately, many of her foals died. However, she was from one of the great French thoroughbred families (highlighted by de Chambure's family). Saint Des Saints showed on the turf that he was the best four-year-old in France before getting a virus in May of that campaign and that probably weakened him. However, the genetic potential was there and we are delighted to see that he is today a successful sire of sires and probably the best National Hunt sire of broodmares.

Looking ahead to Cheltenham next week, what graduates of yours are you most looking forward to and why? State Man winning a Champion Hurdle would be very special.

State Man is a short-priced favourite in the Champion Hurdle and he must win. He is trained by the best National Hunt trainer in Europe and comes from the breeding of Guy Cherel who is a perfect horseman, breeder and trainer. Not to mention that State Man's dam was class at Auteuil, a tough mare, and his sire Doctor Dino is probably the best National Hunt stallion in France. Put the best with the best and you will have more chances to be among the best. Apart from State Man, I will not have a lot of runners at Cheltenham as my policy is now to try to keep my horses in France. French breeding will definitely be successful this year at Cheltenham, though. One of the reasons is that we breed horses more for the track than the sales ring. We use stallions with a National Hunt profile in the first choice and we are lucky to stand very good French stallions for that discipline. 

You must have many fond memories from Cheltenham? Would Vautour rank as the most spectacular horse you have bred? He was awesome when winning the Ryanair Chase.

Yes, Vautour really was a great horse, really impressive in all his Cheltenham victories. He was a potential Gold Cup winner and his premature end was very sad for everyone involved. He was an amazing jumper, such a natural, and it was a great thrill to see him flying over his fences. I have found some similarities in his own way of jumping with how Il Est Francais jumps as well.

Tell us a bit more about your relationship with Willie Mullins. He has trained a lot of excellent horses that you have bred. How has that relationship developed?

Willie is just the best. An amazing man. I am a long-time good friend of Pierre Boulard, who used to buy for Willie and when I have a horse who could be exported, Willie has the first preference. We have full confidence with Willie. I have visited him twice and was very impressed by the quality of his training, by his gallops and by his staff. I am drawn by his humanity and humility. 

I understand that Willie and Jackie Mullins have a few mares in partnership with you, including a half-sister to Benie Des Dieux (Fr) (Great Pretender {Ire}). That must be exciting.

I take care of a few mares owned by Jackie and when the owner of Grace Des Dieux (Fr) (Blek {Fr}) [a half-sister to Benie Des Dieux) asked me to buy her, as he knew that I loved the family, I thought that this mare might please Jackie. She immediately agreed and we bought the mare in partnership. The first produce is for Jackie, a very good colt by Great Pretender. She is in foal to Karaktar and is due on April 1. The second foal is mine and that is very exciting. I am very much enjoying this venture with Willie and Jackie. 

You have a soft spot for Ireland and have been there many times. What is it about Irish racing and bloodstock that you like so much?

I like the atmosphere in Ireland and love Irish people. I feel well over there with some good friends I like to meet. It's a country I would have loved to live in.

It's not all about National Hunt racing for you. You have also had some fun on the Flat and Knock On (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}) won a Listed race for you last October. What are the plans for her this year?

I stand with only one Flat mare by Acclamation (GB) and I have a share in Zelzal (Fr) as well. So the cross is simple each year, and has been successful with J'Acclame (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}) [five wins in Longchamp and Chantilly] and Knock On [Listed winner and Listed-placed]. Knock On could go for Listed races over less than a mile. She is very easy and quiet in the morning, but on the track she is a lion with a lot of speed.

Finally, despite your huge success, you have never forgotten your roots and you remain closely connected to the grassroots of your sport in France. What is your philosophy to racing and breeding and what advice would you impart on others?

When I took the management of the stud at the beginning of 1990s, we worked hard, standing stallions-usually four-and improved each year our genetics in broodmares. This period was difficult but we have learned our job as breeders. When I stopped standing stallions, I invested a lot to improve the land and select the mares, and today we are hopefully reaping the benefit of all these years of work. Nothing happens by itself. I can't pretend to teach others as I myself learn everyday something new about horses. My principal advice can be to always keep [one's] humility and stay observant.

 

 

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He’s Mustard: The Champion Hurdle Contender Carrying Big Dreams for the Fowlers’ Small Stable

Sometime in the next few days there will likely be footage of a convoy of vast wagons carrying Gordon Elliott's army of horses from Co Meath to Cheltenham. Ten minutes down the road from Elliott's stable, a single two-box will pull out of the drive at Rahinston to make that same journey. On board will be Colonel Mustard (Fr), an outsider for the Champion Hurdle but very much the star of Lorna Fowler's string of 15 jumpers. 

Of all the Festival races, the Champion Hurdle has been hogging the headlines of the last week as we awaited news of the likely defection of odds-on favourite Constitution Hill (GB). He's now out, his stable-mate Iberico Lord (Fr) is in, State Man (Fr) is the new favourite and the brilliant young mare Lossiemouth (Fr) may or may not stand her ground against her own sex this year. We'll see.

What is certain, however, is that, with fair winds and following seas, Colonel Mustard will be belatedly fulfilling what now looks to have been a cunning plan. Nine years ago it was probably more just a pipe dream for two old school friends to buy a backward-looking Flat horse at the foal sales and try to turn him into a top-class jumper. One of that duo is Fowler's husband, Harry, the Goffs UK bloodstock manager who still part-owns Colonel Mustard with the man now best known for rejuvenating the Tote, Alex Frost. They were joined in the partnership in the early days of the horse's racing career by Pete Davies.

“I was joking with Frosty and said, 'Let's find a horse to run in the 2022 Champion Hurdle' when we were traipsing around the foal sale in 2015,” says Harry, casting his mind back to the first time he saw the son of Makfi (GB). “It was a bit of a fantasy really, but Matt Coleman came across this horse and we all agreed. No one wanted him in the sales ring – big, backward foal, German staying pedigree, wasn't what the market was looking for. He was a bit out of place in the December sales.

“And lo and behold, we broke him in, and I rode him as a two-year-old and straight away he'd lob around the sand with the greatest of ease. I thought, 'Oh, we've got one here. He could be all right.' He told us straight away. And then he took a long time to mature, with a few niggles and growing pains, and he didn't run until he was five.”

Coleman, Frost and Fowler weren't far off, though. Colonel Mustard won a Punchestown bumper at five and was second to Echoes In Rain (Fr) in the G1 Champion Novice Hurdle at 40/1 to close his debut season. Subsequent placings in smart company at Ascot and Leopardstown, behind Jonbon (Fr) and Sir Gerhard (Ire), saw him make it to the Cheltenham Festival in 2022, but for the County Hurdle rather than the Champion. The form of that race now reads very well indeed, as he was third, just three lengths behind State Man, the subsequent winner of eight Grade 1 races whom he will meet again on Tuesday. 

You have to make him feel like he's the king and
that he's the most important person in the world.

Colonel Mustard's progression has been the old-fashioned route of a trainer bringing a horse through the ranks without shopping at the boutique ready-made jumper sales. At such auctions, the price tags are usually at least 10 times the 20,000gns it took to buy the backward Makfi (GB) foal. It is a way that both Lorna and Harry Fowler would have witnessed first hand in their formative years as the children respectively of National Hunt training and riding stalwarts Sue and Johnny Bradburne and John and Lady Jennifer 'Chich' Fowler.

Lorna grew up in Scotland and is unique in being the only person to have ridden a winner at the Cheltenham Festival for Sir Henry Cecil thanks to landing the St Patrick's Day Derby – a charity race for amateurs – aboard the Niarchos family's Plato (Jpn). Her brother is the former jump jockey Mark Bradburne. Having a runner in her own name in one of the championship races takes it to another level, however.

“It means a huge amount,” she says. “In a funny way, I perhaps don't appreciate it as much as I should because I'm always thinking about the next plan with him and what to do, so you're not looking from the outside in. But the amount of people that know Colonel Mustard – he's the horse the children talk about all the time. 

“And I think where he's been so special is he's brought us to the big stage so many times, which is a huge deal for a yard this size. You need to do the very best for him, and you need to do as well as you can with him. He's an exceptional horse in this yard, but in a big yard he'd be one of many. In a way it gives you a lot more scope to think outside the box because you want to make him stand out.”

The 'Ginger Ninja', as he is known at home, does indeed stand out as he bowls around Fowler's expansive sand oval at Rahinston under Diego Rodrigues. It's not just because he is the sole chestnut out at exercise, and he's not even the most physically imposing in the yard, but Colonel Mustard does just have a look of feeling rather pleased with himself. 

Lorna Fowler on the Rahinston gallops | Emma Berry

 

“You have to make him feel like he's the king and that he's the most important person in the world,” says his trainer. “And that's pretty easy around here, because he is pretty important. But that for him is important. He's a very bright horse. And when you have very intelligent horses, it can work two ways. If you get them on side, they'll work it out and they'll do anything for you.”

Reflecting on Colonel Mustard's first Festival appearance she adds, “He ran a huge race and he loved it. He loves the big stage. There are some horses that come alive on it.

“In a way he has campaigned himself. You have big plans at the beginning of the season and nothing goes exactly according to plan. But every year, for some reason by the time I get into the new year, the pieces fall into place.

“You always let the horses tell you. You also have to be very respectful of what the owners want. It's very important, and quite rightly. They want days out, they want to enjoy the horse, and I think he's done very well on that score so far.”

Few could argue with that assertion. To Cheltenham, Aintree, Punchestown, Leopardstown, Ascot, Ayr and Newbury, Colonel Mustard has taken his happy band of followers to some of the best jumps courses in Britain and Ireland, most recently finishing second in Wincanton's G2 Kingwell Hurdle, a traditional Champion Hurdle trial. Though his nine runner-up finishes may have left them thinking 'if only' at times, one can but admire his consistency. In 19 starts he has finished in the first three on 15 occasions.

Rahinston's training yard and stud was set up by John Fowler, the brother of Jessica Harrington, on the 700-acre estate which has been home to generations of the family for two centuries. Following his death in 2008, his wife Chich took on the role of trainer until her passing in 2013. Their son and daughter-in-law have continued the business, bringing about significant rejuvenation to the racing and breeding operations which are run in tandem. Alex Frost, who owns Ladyswood Stud in England, has been a staunch backer of their plans.

“He's been phenomenal,” admits Harry. “He wanted to get involved in racehorses more and I remember saying to him shortly after my mother died, 'We can do the equine stuff here if you want to get involved.' And he said, 'Yeah, let's give it a go.'

“He was already involved in a horse in training here when Dad was alive. And then obviously he got further stuck in after that. He said, 'Anything you fancy, I'll come in with you.' We bought a few horses along the way. A few didn't work out, but we bought the dam of Don Poli (Fr) before he was a big name, and that sort of launched us really.”

Lorna adds of Frost, “You'll never meet anybody who has such a genuinely enthusiastic passion for the sport. It's also important to note that he's bringing that to the Tote. It's such a massive undertaking but he's doing this for the good of racing. And for somebody to be doing that right now in this industry is massive. I think that in itself is pretty amazing.”

The Fowlers are a formidable couple in their breadth of experience, with Lorna's eloquence in talking about her role offering a reminder of her former job as a presenter on Racing UK. It is an oft-heard lament that the big yards are getting bigger while smaller trainers struggle to pick up business. Perhaps nowhere is this more apparent than in the Irish National Hunt scene, which is dominated by the super stables of Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins in particular. Lorna takes a pragmatic view of the situation.

It's not just about how good a trainer you are. You have to go out, you have
to get the owners, you have to get the right people involved.

“I think that National Hunt has become more professional and I think everybody has to take that into account and to up their game,” she says. “I'm a small trainer and I'm a very small fish in a big pond. And I think those that have made it have done so because, not only are they excellent trainers, but they're excellent business people, excellent at surrounding themselves with the right people.

“And I think what you have to do is say, 'Right, do I want that or not?' And you have to make the effort to get it. It's not just about how good a trainer you are. You have to go out, you have to get the owners, you have to get the right people involved, but the small trainers have to work out what they want. 

“Having said that, yes, it's very difficult because you are pushing against battalions. But at the same time that small trainer needs to say 'What else do I need to do to try and achieve that?' I've got to try harder if I want that.”

She continues, “The one disappointing thing is that there's a lot of people that have licenses, but they're perceived as pre-trainers to feed into the bigger yards. And I think that's a shame. Now, some people are really happy to do that because they get great income from it, but I personally don't find that a very healthy angle for the sport, this concept of pre-training and then there being just a handful of big trainers.”

It is not hard to envisage the Fowler operation growing in stature in years to come. For a start, Rahinston is a magical place. A step back in time in many ways, but for the family members running it now, all eyes are firmly on its future, including those of the Fowlers' young children, Rosie and Johnny.

“The children enjoy everything about this place and they're very much part of it,” says Lorna during a break between her first and second lots, with Harry having just returned from his feeding round of the mares and young horses about the place. “My focus is the training because that's what I enjoy, but I also know the business. I've got to keep that separate, but our business has to survive and we have to make everything work. Pete Davis has some fabulous broodmares here now and some young stock coming through that are very exciting for him.

“Harry has Goffs, so that gives him his sanity away from his wife and here. But I think you just have to make it work. What do they say? 'If you want to get something done, ask a busy person.' That's how it works.

“Here, like anything in life, it's still a work in progress. It's a big place and we need to maximise its scope and potential from every point of view.”

Despite both her own late parents and in-laws having run their own training businesses, Lorna insists that this wasn't necessarily Plan A for her, even though she is plainly a natural. 

“I always said I wouldn't train. I remember after Harry's mother died and I was talking to our head man Dermot Fagan and I said, 'We'll be down to just a couple of horses and we'll rent out the land for tillage and whatever.' And he said, 'Yeah, yeah.' And anyway, here we are,” she says.

“My mother never said 'Don't do it.' For Mark and I growing up, we were very lucky as a family, the same with Harry, that we had that shared interest with our parents. That's something I'm hugely appreciative of, because it was just really special. It was incredible. And I think that my parents, if they knew we were having a runner in the Champion Hurdle, oh my God, they would just be beside themselves.”

Her husband, with not quite the same level of eloquence, agrees and says of his own parents, “They'd love it. I could imagine them saying, 'What the f*** are you going to the Champion Hurdle for, you mad bastards?'”

 

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‘We’re Up Against Monsters’ – Molony On Kenny Alexander’s Cheltenham Squad

Peter Molony, racing manager to Kenny Alexander, says he cannot split the powerful owner's Jade De Grugy (Fr), Kargese (Fr) and previous Cheltenham Festival scorer Telmesomethinggirl (Ire) when it comes to picking the operation's best chance of a winner at Prestbury Park next week. 

The Rathmore Stud boss also provided a passionate riposte to some of the criticism being levelled at the mares' races at the Cheltenham Festival by stating that their horse of a lifetime Honeysuckle (GB) may never have seen a racetrack had it not been for the opportunities presented to mares through the heightened programme in recent years.

Following the high-profile defection of Constitution Hill (GB) in this year's Champion Hurdle, Willie Mullins and owner Rich Ricci have come under pressure to run last year's Triumph Hurdle scorer Lossiemouth (Fr), as short as 1-2 for the Mares' Hurdle, in the day one showpiece. 

It's a situation Molony can relate to as similar pressure was being heaped on trainer Henry de Bromhead and Alexander to run the reigning Champion Hurdler Honeysuckle against the boys in the build-up to last year's festival despite the fact she clearly wasn't operating at her brilliant best throughout the campaign. 

In the end, Honeysuckle bypassed the Champion Hurdle in favour of the Mares' Hurdle, and delivered one of the standout performances of the meeting when bowing out with a hard-fought victory over Love Envoi (Ire). 

While Molony agrees that change is needed in order to drive competition at the Cheltenham Festival, he says the three mares' races–the Mares' Novices' Hurdle, Mares' Hurdle and Mares' Chase–are hugely important lures for people to buy and race mares.

He said, “The mares' races have been under attack recently but, what people don't seem to realise is that none of these mares would be in training at all if it wasn't for these mares' races. Honeysuckle, Annie Power (Fr), Quevega (Ire)–none of those mares would have been kept in training if it wasn't for the mares' races. Before these races came about, there was zero trade for National Hunt fillies. Zero. That's what people don't seem to realise.

“For me, we need to step back and appreciate how these mares' races are enhancing the game. I don't understand the criticism levelled at these races. Now, I do agree that changes need to be made at Cheltenham, but I am firmly of the belief that these mares' races are adding to the programme and that they are not part of the problem. In actual fact, they are part of the solution.”

Molony added, “One pundit, I can't even remember who it was, described the Mares' Hurdle as the worst race at the Cheltenham Festival. Whoever he was, he clearly wasn't watching last year's edition. These races add a huge amount of colour. Okay, last year's race was run in exceptional circumstances and there was huge emotion surrounding the whole thing. However, according to most people who were there and a lot of people watching it on television, it was one of their most amazing experiences in racing when Honeysuckle won.”

The Mares' Novices' Hurdle is shaping up to be one of the races of next week. Gordon Elliott has gone on the record in saying that Brighterdaysahead (Fr) compares favourably with anything he has ever trained before. While Molony is full of respect for Brighterdaysahead, he is also confident that Jade De Grugy can give a good account. 

He said, “Great friends of mine, the Bleahens, sold Brighterdaysahead so I have known about her for a long time. She was the most beautiful three-year-old and she has a serious pedigree. She's clearly a very good racemare and we have lots of respect for her.”

Molony added, “Our lady has done everything very easily, though. When Brian Hayes got off her at Fairyhouse, he said he thought he was in loads of trouble at one point in the race, because he thought he wasn't going fast enough. As it transpired, she was just going so easy and he said he'd never sat on anything like her before. Willie seems to be quite bullish about Jade De Grugy so we will find out who is the best mare on the day.”

Alexander will be doubly-represented in the Mares' Hurdle with Gala Marceau (Fr) and Tellmesomethinggirl. Molony says that he is quietly confident that the latter can out-run her general odds of 20-1. 

He explained, “I think the two-and-a-half miles will really play to Gala Marceau's strengths. She was very disappointing the last day but Willie seems pretty confident that that was just a blip. We're actually quietly confident about Telmesomethinggirl. We know she loves the place-she won the Mares' Novice very impressively three years ago and she was running a huge race in the Mares' Hurdle itself two years ago before she got brought down. 

“Rachael [Blackmore] came in afterwards and was absolutely sick–she thought she was going to win. At her best, I think she'd give everything in the race something to think about. We had a waste of a year over fences last year with her. She didn't really take to it. Henry seems to be confident that she's coming right back to her best so we're quite hopeful.”

Alexander will take on another short-priced favourite on Friday when Kargese bids to get the better of the hugely impressive Sir Gino (Fr) in the Triumph. Kargese, a Grade 1 winner at the Dublin Racing Festival, is said to be improving with racing, and Molony gives the filly a big chance getting weight from the opposite sex.

Molony said, “Everywhere we look, we seem to be running against a monster. Telmesomethinggirl has Lossiemouth to contend with, Jade De Grugy has Brighterdaysahead and now Kargese has Sir Gino to worry about in the Triumph. She is a beautiful-looking mare. The first day she ran for us, she just didn't settle at all and did remarkably well to finish second. Then she went and won the Grade 1 at the Dublin Racing Festival where she settled much better. If she settles in the Triumph, she'll run a big race getting weight from the geldings.”

On the rest of their festival squad, he added, “We'd love Doddiethegreat (Ire) to run well and win some money for the Doddie [Weir] foundation. He'll be declared for the Coral Cup and, if he gets in, he'll run. If he doesn't, he'll go for the Martin Pipe but we're hoping he gets into the Coral Cup. 

“We also have Miss Manzor (GB) in the Boodles. We like her a lot and she ran a blinder at Christmas. She must have a little bit of a squeak.”

Asked to nominate Alexander's best chance of the week, Molony said, “Tellmesomethinggirl, Jade De Grugy and Kargese all have great chances but they're all running up against monsters. If one of them happened to win, we'd be delighted.”

Meanwhile, four-time Festival winner and dual Champion Hurdler Honeysuckle is due her first foal by Walk In The Park (Ire) in the coming weeks. 

Providing an update on the legendary racemare, Molony concluded, “Honeysuckle is still in Scotland. Kenny was very keen that she foaled over there and it's all good so far, touch wood. She is due in about three weeks' time now. Kerry, who looks after her so well over there, is under strict instruction to call me whenever she foals–I don't care if it's two o'clock in the morning! 

“Fingers crossed, everything will go well and we will have a healthy foal. Everything going well, she will come back to us when the foal is about three weeks old and we will be visiting Blue Bresil (Fr) this year.”

The post ‘We’re Up Against Monsters’ – Molony On Kenny Alexander’s Cheltenham Squad appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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