Stable Tour: Willie Mullins Cheltenham Festival 2017

DJAKADAM

He’s in good form. He hasn’t had any setback this year. Last year he got that nasty cut when he ran at Cheltenham and we just had enough time. This year we’ve had a clear run, a better run, to the Gold Cup. 

It was part of the plan all along [to miss the Irish Gold Cup] and then when I saw the date I think it was about a week nearer this year between and I’m not sure that’s great for the Irish Gold Cup. Whether we need to see that moved back, I don’t know why it was so close this year. 

I think he’s more mature now. First year he was young, second year he had a bad prep. This year everything is going right. Would he need to improve? Would last year’s run do? 

I was very taken with his run at Christmas. We reflected afterwards that if we had used different tactics we might’ve had a different result. 

We’re happy with where we are now and that’s the important thing. Obviously it’s more open this year. We were 12-1 a week ago and 5-1 now, but it’s obviously been a funny year with injuries for a lot of people. 

It would be nice to win. We’ll hope, we’ll see. I’m looking at getting there, I’m not looking at other horses in the race. My horse has finished second in it the last few years we just need the ball bouncing in our favour a little bit more and it could happen. 

DOUVAN

Douvan’s in good order. Everything has gone well. At this stage we’re just trying to get there in one piece and hope things go right as well. 

He’s a lovely relaxed individual. Holly rides him every day and they go round there at their own pace. Just to get there and hopefully run his race. 

When you go to Cheltenham with a strong favourite it’s always relief rather than joy. 

There’s a fair bit of expectation with Douvan and you just hope it all goes alright and he gets there. You’ve just got to try and mind them as best you can and hope nothing stupid happens like a gust of wind frightening them and they clip into themselves or something like that. 

He’s not there yet, but the bar keeps rising and he keeps meeting it. He’s got to win a Champion Chase or maybe a couple of them. 

Maybe we’ll go in a different direction after that. He’s won everything we’ve asked him to win but you’ve got to win your championship races. 

I only think every morning about keeping him sound. I've younger horses in the yard I think might be a Champion Hurdle horse one day or a Gold Cup horse one day, but with him I just take it day by day and try to get him to the Festival and hoping nothing goes wrong on the day or in the race. 

It's that narrow for me with him at the moment. I think I've said what I thought about him - that he could be the best that I've ever had - but he's a long way to go to get there. 

He's certainly got to get past Hurricane Fly, who did what he did.  The bar is high for him. 

We'd all like to win them (championship races). I think we've been second five or six times in the Gold Cup and we've probably had very few runners in the Champion Chase or the Stayers' Hurdle. I'd like to tick them off if we can. 

I don't really watch the replays, but there's a few times he's given me frights and everyone else is saying he jumped fantastic. Ruby says 'I couldn't see what you saw on the ground when I'm on his back'. 

He's so in control and he's got the scope to get in close or stand back. He seems to have everything. It's rare for a horse of his size to stay so sound. Usually when they're that big, things go wrong.

LIMINI

I would say it's 50-50 [that she is supplemented for the Champion Hurdle]. I had a chat with Rich the other day and we both said we wouldn't chat much more until the morning of the thing comes. 

A lot depends on how Vroum Vroum Mag goes between now and then, she's obviously in the Mares' Hurdle. I think if she's fine and sparking, we probably might take a punt. 

I went to Punchestown thinking 'am I mad going there'. Last year when Annie Power won it you'd would probably have said before the race would be a schooling hurdle for her, with what was in the race. 

This year I thought Apple's Jade wouldn't make it easy for us and maybe a hard race three weeks before Cheltenham is not good. But I thought we'd said we were going to run, so we probably had to turn up and I just hoped it wouldn't turn into a race of attrition. 

We thought we'd ride the race Ruby did ride and everything just fell into place. What I didn't think was that Limini could pull out and go past her without getting a slap, which begs two questions - have we improved that much? 

I thought we'd improved at home, but I didn't know we'd improved that much and did Apple's Jade run up to her form? If she did, I think we're well entitled to go for the Champion Hurdle. Limini didn't have a hard race and pulled out of it well. 

It was not more than she would do if we didn't go to Punchestown and took her away somewhere. Her jumping has improved hugely from last year.

FOOTPAD will also run in the Champion Hurdle and I'd imagine I'll try and get WICKLOW BRAVE there, he's a course winner.

Petit Mouchoir wasn’t going anywhere from Footpad so we’re hoping wherever he is we’re not far away. The track should suit us better at Cheltenham.

UN DE SCEAUX

The one that’s hard to watch is Un De Sceaux. Every morning he goes out he wants to race, he’s a bit like Hurricane Fly, he wants to be competitive. He pulls, puts his head down and wants to get on with the job. 

You worry that he can go out there every morning and do that without pulling a muscle or overreaching, those type of horses are harder to mind. The Ryanair is the plan with him. Ground or no ground, that's where we are.

He won over two and a half miles on heavy ground as a four-year-old. He could get three miles now. He is keen but I think he’s settled a lot better than what he used to, I think fences have settled him down, and I think his last run showed how well he can settle.

The horse is settling down as he gets older and I don’t think the trip will be a problem.

He’s probably easier to ride in a race. 

BLACK HERCULES is not pleasing me, you can put a line through him.

SHANESHILL goes for the Stayers' Hurdle. NICHOLS CANYON I'm not so sure about. He's had an in-and-out year and I might leave him and go to Punchestown. He's in the Champion Hurdle and the Stayers' Hurdle. 

If I changed a few things with him and he started to bounce between now and then, I might bring him, but at the moment I could leave him at home.

CLONDAW WARRIOR also runs. He should probably have been running over three miles long before now. They've both got chances in it. It's going to be tough for them, but they have each-way chances.

VROUM VROUM MAG

I think Vroum Vroum will go for the Mares' Hurdle. On her last performance, that's all I can see her doing.

I’d have no problem with her going back over fences but the hurdle programme is suiting her better at the moment. 

She was terrible at Doncaster. But she’s coming back right, we’re much happier with her. 

I think she was just brewing some sort of a cold and when we got home we gave her antibiotics. I gave her an easy time, she’s had bits of work since and we’re happier with her now she’s coming back to herself.

I don’t think she could run in a Champion Hurdle after Doncaster. I don’t think we could ask her any of those questions now. The mares’ hurdle is the obvious route for her now.

NOVICE CHASERS

I didn't get YORKHILL going over fences until Christmas time. I thought I had the other two for the Champion Hurdle (Annie Power and Faugheen) and I said I'd let him go chasing. 

I thought about it [going back over hurdles] for about two seconds and then I said no. I spoke to Graham Wylie and he was thinking the same thing. We could always come back over hurdles next year, but we'll see how he gets on in Cheltenham.

We’re going for the JLT. 

ROYAL CAVIAR goes for the Arkle. He’s in great order. We think he jumps very well and he’ll like nice ground. 

I'm not sure where BELLSHILL will go, either the RSA or the four-mile (National Hunt Chase). We’re blaming ourselves [for previous Cheltenham defeats].

HAYMOUNT will go for the RSA or the four-miler, probably the four-miler. I thought he hated the ground the other day. He jumps well. He wants nice ground, he’s settled down a lot. I’d be happy enough he’ll get the trip in the four-miler.

SKY BET SUPREME TEAM

We'll probably have four or five runners. MELON, BUNK OFF EARLY, CRACK MOME, CILAOS EMERY - those four, anyway.

Melon is a horse with plenty of ability who jumps well. He's a fine, strong, tall horse who has the ability but doesn't have the experience. The form in the two-mile division is not as strong as other years. We'll find out on the day, I suppose.

When you're looking at what Melon does at home, all the time, I'd say it will be an easy enough decision for Ruby.

Fiveforthree won the Neptune after one run and Melon has plenty of jumping experience at home. He seems a natural jumper.

I suppose when I bought him I thought ‘Champion Hurdle horse’ but if you look at the size of him now I think he’s really grown and matured. He could easily jump fences. Let’s see what he does here first.

I think both Crack Mome and Cilaos Emery have good enough form to be placed in it if not win it if things go right for them. All of them will improve.

NEPTUNE TEAM

KEMBOY, SATURNAS, MONTALBANO and BACARDYS. 

Saturnas didn’t ride out this morning. He’s pulled a muscle and hopefully he’ll be all right in a few days. Montalbano could be Neptune. I don’t know what to do with him, he’s very keen.

Bacardys probably did surprise me in the Deloitte, but I was happy with the way he did it with the tactics we used. He'll probably go for the Neptune, rather than the Albert Bartlett.

He's a horse we did think a lot of and the Deloitte put him back on track.

INVITATION ONLY is 50-50. We might keep him for Fairyhouse.

ALBERT BARTLETT TEAM

AUGUSTA KATE looks like she'd want a longer trip, so I'd say she could go Albert Bartlett. C’EST JERSEY could be Albert Bartlett. PENHILL could run. BON PAPA could be another one, we’ll have to see what connections want to do.

Augusta Kate was upsides him [Death Duty] and that form puts her in with a good… she could easily run in the Albert Bartlett. No I wouldn’t be [afraid of taking Death Duty on again].

BATTLEFORD could go for the Albert Bartlett as well.

MARES’ NOVICES

The obvious one for LET’S DANCE would be the mares' novice. We seem to have a few a few nice ones for that, but at the moment I would have to say it will possibly be the mares' novice. She's a second-season novice, which is a big help to her. 

That would look the easiest one, but she could slot in any of the novice races and mares' form seems to be good this year. I think the mares form is stacking up better than the geldings form.

AIRLIE BEACH probably has to take her on. I don't think we'd run her in the Supreme.

JUVENILES

I think the nice ones are BAPAUME and MERI DEVIE. I think they will go. DANDY MAG is also entered in the Triumph but I don’t think he will run. 

I was disappointed with Meri Devie last time, she’s a lot better than that. I probably gave her too much time off after her first run. Maybe she needs to be trained a bit more like a gelding. She’s been in good order since. She’s growing and putting on weight so I can afford to be a good bit harder on her over the next few weeks.

Ruby had huge time for her before the last day and I made him ride Bapaume, when he wanted to ride her. He thinks she’s a fair mare and she’s not out of it by any means.

Bapaume had won a Grade 2 before, she’d won a maiden hurdle. I thought it was a simple enough decision. I think he’ll need to improve but they both should be competitive.

CHAMPION BUMPER

CARTER McKAY goes there. NEXT DESTINATION goes there. The two fillies, RED HOT FILLY PEPPERS and MYSTICAL THEATRE are also entered.

Carter would be the one wouldn’t he? He’d been doing nice work at home and it was better than I’d hoped. You don’t go expecting a performance like that.

I suppose he does [compare favourably with his past bumper winners]. That performance the other day would compare favourably with anything. He’s a fair machine.

Next Destination works well.

HANDICAPPERS

Our horses usually get somewhere between 6-8lb over their Irish weight. If ISLEOFOPENDREAMS does he should get in the Pertemps.

I don’t like giving out about handicappers. You enter, you run, you take it or leave it. People get upset about the handicapper, I try not to.

We’ve been lucky to win handicap hurdles. I don’t think we’ve ever been sighted in a handicap chase at Cheltenham. 

IVAN GROZNY could go for a handicap. BLAZER’s entered in a handicap or two. 

ARCTIC FIRE is in good order, he’s working well. I stuck him in the County Hurdle to see, it’s probably 50-50 whether he runs or not we’ll see what kind of work he does in the next few days.