The build up to this year’s Cheltenham Festival has been dominated by trying to predict Willie Mullins’s running plans.
Some observers have got very het up indeed about a lack of clarity. It’s a waste of energy according to Danny Mullins, who knows better than most how his uncle operates.
“He could say I’m going to run A, B, C and D here, here, here, and here and that would be an honest answer at the time. But by the time he’s been given all the new information that comes to light every single day, you could nearly guarantee 75 per cent of those horses will change where they’re going.
“Up to the last second he can change his mind. He doesn’t remain fluid to be a showman. He remains fluid to try and win as many races as he can,” he says.
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Since it’s impossible to argue with the results, the rider has learned the virtue of patience in the face of logistical frustration. He’s also learned that picking up the discards from his uncle’s number one rider Paul Townend can prove very profitable consolation indeed.
If Townend has first pick, having second dibs on the most powerful team of horses in the sport is an enviable position to be in too. Like Buzz Aldrin said in The Simpsons, second is good as well – “It’s right after first!” Plus, the headache of choice isn’t a factor.
“There’s no second guessing and it’s a great position to be in where there are so many horses with very realistic winning chances. So, fingers crossed, Paul will get it wrong somewhere and I hope I’m the beneficiary,” he said.
It’s a position that has delivered Seamus Heffernan a superb career on the flat, turning cast-offs from the likes of Kinane, Fallon, Murtagh and Moore into a classic gold as Aidan O’Brien’s long-time number two at Ballydoyle.
Mullins is still relatively new to the role at jump racing’s most powerful operation. It’s less than five years since Ruby Walsh’s retirement sparked a game of musical chairs and the pecking order behind Townend was fluid for a while.
However, making the most the opportunities presented, including a vintage ride on the 2021 King George winner, Tornado Flyer, has cemented the 31-year-old’s status.
The pay-offs have been spectacular at times, including Grade One hat-tricks at the last two Dublin Racing Festivals.
The downside is that the DRF tends to establish Closutton’s pecking order for Cheltenham. Townend has more to go on when deciding about what to ride at Cheltenham. Perhaps it’s no coincidence then that Mullins has yet to score for his uncle at the festival.
Nevertheless, his rides on Day One of the festival will be the envy of most every other jockey in the weighroom.
Daryl Jacob’s connections to the Munir & Souede ownership mean he is on Mullins’s Champion Hurdle outsider Zarak The Brave. But among four rides, the Arkle hope, Il Etait Temps, in particular carries realistic hopes of success.
“After every lot on the gallops at home. I’d ask Paul about the one he sat on and vice versa, keeping an eye on everything around. We’re all trying to cover all bases and see what’s doing what and where,” he says.
Mullins believes the tigerish little grey Il Etait Temps is the one to be on. Townend has gone his own way, though, opting for the brilliant but mercurial Gaelic Warrior instead. It’s a decision that suits his understudy just fine.
“He doesn’t look like a chaser, and he doesn’t feel like one. He’s everything but a fine, big chaser. He just seems to be very good at jumping fences,” Mullins says.
The fact he has been on board Il Etait Temps for all but two of his 11 races underlines his lingering underdog status in the stable pecking order. But an exciting defeat of Found A Fifty in last month’s Irish Arkle was a second top-flight career success.
Fears that Cheltenham’s fences might exposé Il Etait Temps’ lack of scope are dismissed by his rider.
“The rule is that English fences are softer than the Irish. If he can jump around Leopardstown he can jump around anywhere,” Mullins says.
“There’s just more speed involved which can catch out some horses. Since he can lie up around Leopardstown, he should have no issues.”
Prior to that Irish Arkle, Il Etait Temps chased home Gaelic Warrior at Limerick in a Christmas highlight where analysis took a back seat to Patrick Mullins’s response to his cousin’s attempts to poke up the inner.
The runner-up’s calm at the height of the histrionics saw him emerge a clear winner in public opinion but the incident reflected how it can be everyone for themselves despite all being on the same team.
“Once you get on the track it’s sport and it’s competitive. Even on the smaller days we all have an appetite to win.”
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