Tag: Cheltenham Festival

Champion Hurdle Favourite Constitution Hill to Miss Cheltenham

Constitution Hill (GB) (Blue Bresil {Fr}) will not run at the Cheltenham Festival, trainer Nicky Henderson has announced.

The unbeaten and defending Champion Hurdle hero worked poorly at Kempton Park last Tuesday, putting his participation at the showpiece meeting in major doubt.

A scope showed mucus in his lungs and despite slightly more positive news in the following days, results of a blood test on Thursday proved to be another blow.

However, Henderson stressed that another blood test on Monday would probably prove to be the “acid test”, and on receiving the results he posted on his Twitter account, “Very sadly we are going to have to admit defeat in the battle to get Constitution Hill ready for the Champion Hurdle and therefore have to declare that he will not be running there this year.

“He has undoubtedly improved over the weekend and seems noticeably brighter than he was at the end of last week and I really did think he was much perkier when ridden this morning.

“Unfortunately the all important blood test shows that although the figures have also improved, they are quite a way from being satisfactory for a horse to commence serious training and to race in a week's time.

“There are three significant markers on the blood test all of which have come down since Thursday's sample but are still raised enough to indicate that he has not fully recovered from whatever was ailing him.

“The only way to continue the improvement is not to stress him and he obviously cannot run in these Olympic games if he's not trained sufficiently.

“This is very sad for all of us and particularly Michael [Buckley, owner] but it is in everybody's best interests that we ensure we have a fit and healthy Constitution Hill to win back his crown next year.”

The Willie Mullins-trained State Man (Fr) (Doctor Dino {Fr}), who was the nine-length runner-up to Constitution Hill in last year's Champion Hurdle, is now the 1-3 favourite for the race.

 

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National Hunt Chase to be Named in Memory of Maureen Mullins 

The G2 National Hunt Chase at next week's Cheltenham Festival will be run in honour of the late Maureen Mullins, who died last month at the age of 94. 

The move, which was announced by Cheltenham Racecourse on Monday, was welcomed by her son Tony, who said, “Undoubtedly the correct race for a great stayer.”

The matriarch of a hugely successful Irish racing dynasty, Mullins's late husband Paddy saddled six Festival winners, including one of the greatest National Hunt mares of all time, Dawn Run (Ire), who remains the only horse ever to win both the Champion Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup, in 1984 and 1986 respectively. 

A successful rider, owner and breeder herself, Mullins's five children have also had a huge impact on the Cheltenham Festival. Her son Willie is the winningmost trainer with 94 winners to his name, while his brothers Tony and Tom have also also saddled winners at the Festival, and grandsons Patrick, Danny and Emmet have all ridden Festival winners.

“The National Hunt Chase has a long tradition of commemorating some of jump racing's most famous names and we are delighted that the Mullins family has agreed to have the historic contest run in honour of Maureen Mullins in 2024,” said Ian Renton, Managing Director, West, The Jockey Club.

“A true stalwart of jump racing, Maureen Mullins was a regular visitor to the Festival and her sad passing last month leaves a big void. We hope that putting her name to the National Hunt Chase celebrates her tremendous legacy in the appropriate way.”

Willie Mullins added, “Our family are delighted and honoured to have a race named after our mother Maureen who had a great affinity for Cheltenham and enjoyed every moment there.”

 

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Davy Russell: ‘Nothing Has Made Me More Nervous Than Dancing With The Stars’

Legendary jumps jockey Davy Russell says he hasn't thought about emulating Nina Carberry's achievements in flying the flag for racing by winning Ireland's version of Dancing With The Stars and revealed that riding in the Grand National or the Gold Cup does not compare to the nerves that come with competing on the show. 

Russell, who bowed out from the saddle in December 2022 before briefly returning to race-riding for his long-time ally Gordon Elliott after Jack Kennedy broke his leg the following January, has heaped praise on his dancing coach Kylee Vincent. 

He explained, “I've a brilliant teacher in Kylee. She has an outstanding way of coaxing me into being able to do the dances. I have no step now. I couldn't dance a step if my life depended on it before the show. It's amazing how my coach can turn somebody like me around within the space of a week to be somewhat reasonable at dancing. A lot of the credit goes to her.”

Carberry, widely considered one of the greatest amateur riders of all time, famously won the competition in 2022 after hanging up her saddle four years previously. Russell explained that, while he consulted Carberry before accepting the invitation to take part in the competition, nothing could have prepared him for the amount of work that goes into preparing for each live show. 

He said, “Nina was obviously very supportive of me because not only did she do it but she also won it. The rest of the lads were laughing at me. They thought it would be great craic of a Sunday evening watching me go and make an eejit of myself on National television. 

Thankfully, it's gone the other way around. Now they are tuning in on the Sunday night to see how I get on and to support me. But come here, I was on the same page as them when I started-I'm pleasantly surprised by how it's going but the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes is phenomenal.”

What's making Russell's progression on the reality television series all the more impressive is that the Cork native is balancing practicing along with raising a young family and tending to over 50 horses on his farm.

However, Russell admitted to being put to the pin of his collar at present and is desperately seeking a full-time worker to help out at the burgeoning National Hunt breeding and pinhooking operation.

“It's very hard at the moment,” he said. “I have great help at home but it's not easy. This week took its toll because Edelle [Russell's wife] was away and I am down a member of staff on the farm. I'm actually in dire need of somebody coming on board. 

“We've 15 broodmares on the farm. All of them bar one are National Hunt-bred. On top of the 15 mares, we have their progeny coming through-foals, yearlings, two-year-olds and three-year-olds so we've well over 50 horses here. It's a full-time job in itself.”

He added, “I had somebody working with me and they let me down. It seems to be a common theme in the industry at the moment. Nobody seems to have any regard for anyone and staff seem to just jump around. It's very hard to get somebody to stay in the one place. That's my experience anyway. I would love if somebody came to me and wanted to get involved in the place. Whether that was buying into a mare or pinhooking foals along with working here full-time, I don't know. I'd be open to whatever. Like, if I was getting a few quid on something, I'd love to see the person working for me get a few quid as well. So, I'm open to anything really.”

Russell's Whitebarn Stud has enjoyed some decent paydays in recent times but few will top last year's result at the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale when a Cima de Triomphe (Ire) gelding who was bought for just €5,500 on behalf of his kids rocked into €54,000 at the premier store sale. 

He reflected, “I had a great year. A lot of that would be down to Peter Vaughan of Moanmore Stables. I do a lot of work with Peter. My kids had an excellent year as well. They sold a Cima de Triomphe gelding for €54,000. They started off with two cows and we put them in calf. Out of that, Peter bought them a yearling and they sold him and got a few quid but nothing major, just a couple of grand profit. I gave €5,500 for the Cima de Triomphe horse for them in Osarus in France and then they got €54,000 for him at the Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale last year so they were over the moon with that.”

Russell has also dipped his toe in the breeze-up game from time to time through his association with the Vaughans but it was a certain Siyouni (Fr) filly by the name of Expressiy (Fr) who gave him one of his most memorable results in that sphere back in 2017 when selling for €260,000 at Arqana. 

“I am involved in the breeze-ups but my involvement doesn't extend beyond being an investor. Peter and Patrick Vaughan do all the work with the breeze-up horses. We bought a Bolt d'Oro horse in America last year and he seems to be going quite well. I had a lovely Not This Time horse last year but we just about wiped our nose with him at the Dubai Breeze-Up Sale.”

He added, “It's very funny actually, I got a great touch with a Siyouni filly at Arqana a few years ago. I was heading out for a beginners' chase on a 10-1 shot at Kilbeggan as the filly was going through the ring. Lorcan Wyer [clerk of the course] was telling me to get a move on but, as this filly was rocking into €200,000, I told him I wasn't going anywhere. 

“She made €260,000 in the end. I had her with John Cullinan and I really enjoyed the experience. The filly [Expressiy] turned out to be okay, too, as she went and got black-type for Godolphin. I got down to post in time for the beginners' chase on Burndown (Ire) (Presenting {Ire}) and, while he could only finish third, it ended up being an enjoyable day!”

The decorated rider, who partnered his first winner 25 years ago and will forever be associated with horses like Tiger Roll, Weapon's Amnesty and more, can be backed at 10-1 to win the competition outright. However, the aim is a simple one heading into this Sunday's performance: don't mess up. 

“I just don't want to f*** up,” Russell said. “I built my career on that mindset. I used to go to Cheltenham with one thing on my mind and that was to not f*** up. The only way of doing that is by putting in the work but it's a lot of work to do. 

“I have an awful problem learning the steps and then, when I learn the steps, I then have to put it to music and then you have to have your facial expressions ready as well. To do all of that in six days and then to walk out live on television and bang, get it out in one go, it's not easy.”

He added, “All of my life, nothing ever made me nervous. Riding any horse in any of those big races never made me nervous. But the show two weeks ago, I have never felt nerves like that. I was shaking like a leaf. Maybe it was stepping into the unknown that made me nervous, I don't know. Thankfully this week was a bit more comfortable and I am starting to enjoy it now.”

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Dominance is What Elite Sport is All About

The growing supremacy of the Willie Mullins stable in National Hunt racing begs the question: is it damaging anybody or anything?

Dominance is the raison d'etre of elite sport. When Rafa Nadal was winning 14 French Open tennis titles it never entered his head that what he was doing might be harmful to the game. Manchester City won't be thinking that five Premier League title wins in six seasons is quite enough, thank you very much, and that to make it six in seven would be detrimental. If you're preaching against reigns and dynasties, you might as well chastise the tide for going in and out.

But the issue raised by the Mullins operation's brilliant scouting and training of jump racers isn't about his right to annex the sport. The small flares of disquiet relate more to the effect it might have on public enjoyment, other trainers and owners, betting turnover and the sport's profile at a time when National Hunt racing is bedevilled by small fields and worrying economic indicators.

Let's lay out the stats.

  • Mullins is even money to train more winners at this year's Cheltenham Festival than Great Britain (one trainer versus a whole country)
  • He has 14 ante-post favourites for the 28 races at next month's meeting.
  • At the recent Dublin Racing Festival he won all eight Grade 1 races and saddled 29 of the 48 Grade 1 runners
  • Ten of the last 13 Cheltenham Festival leading trainer's titles have made their way back to his base in County Carlow
  • Entries for this year's Supreme, Ballymore, Albert Bartlett and Triumph revealed a total of 80 names from the Mullins yard

Nobody disputes the skill (and wealth) required to spot, buy, train and deliver horses capable of overwhelming Henry de Bromhead, Nicky Henderson, Paul Nicholls and Gordon Elliott. Henderson, it should be said, has the best horse in National Hunt training – Constitution Hill. The Mullins numbers are powerless to negate that reality. The hard part is knowing when success becomes weaponised – and starts to do harm.

Dissenting voices are few. Richard Johnson, the former champion jockey, is an admirer of Mullins, but sounded an ominous note in a recent discussion with BoyleSports bookmakers. Johnson said: “It definitely is not good for racing. It is not good for competitive sport. When you are looking at the racing at Dublin last weekend people were saying Irish racing is so strong. It's not Irish racing. It's Willie Mullins who is so strong.”

Johnson's belief that Mullins is distorting the Anglo-Irish balance of power is contradicted by this year's Grand National entries. Astonishingly: 61 of the 94 are trained in Ireland (54 was the previous high).

Another part of Johnson's lament is the repetitive nature of the storyline, which you could also sometimes diagnose in Flat racing, with Aidan O'Brien and Coolmore. “Looking at more of the same isn't great and doesn't encourage new people into our sport,” Johnson said.

Is this true? Plenty on the other side point to Tiger Woods and Usain Bolt and ask whether interest dipped when golf and Olympics sprinting felt like pageants.

In his Daily Mail column at the weekend, ITV Racing's Ed Chamberlin wrote: “Of course, true sport relies on competition but does the might of Mullins threaten to ruin Cheltenham? Not for one second. The archetypal racegoer to Cheltenham, or ITV viewer, simply wants a good time and a bet, especially an each-way one.”

Evidence to prove an exodus by punters put-off by odds-on favourites constantly 'going in' for Mullins would be hard to find, given the other possible socio-economic explanations for betting turnover fluctuations. And so far rival trainers are understandably wary of graffitiing the Mullins legend with accusations of unfairness.

Mullins is only six short of a century of Cheltenham Festival winners and we can expect the 100 to be reached next month at a course where, in 2022, he won a record 10 of the 28 races. Having 29 of the 86 entries for the Baring Bingham Novices' Hurdle is only one illustration of his power to swarm the biggest targets.

In football and other team sports, when a trophy is being raised and the tickertape is falling, a journalistic reflex prompts us to ask: is this the start of a dynasty, should everyone else panic, is a new age of dominance upon us? With Liverpool in the 1970s and 80s – yes. With Manchester United subsequently – yes. With Manchester City now – yes.

Often dominance entrances us. Sometimes it suggests imbalance, repetition, staleness, even injustice, if money is the real dominating force. The shadow debate in jump racing around the Mullins numbers hasn't shed much light on the effect on other good yards of owners taking the easy option of sending horses to Closutton, or on the polarisation of wealth in National Hunt racing, or whether racegoers and punters care who saddled the winner.

One thing, we know: being too polite to even discuss those aspects is a quiet form of harm.

 

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