Willie Mullins will focus on Clonmel’s more local charms on Thursday after another attempt to land the Melbourne Cup ended in failure in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Although Absurde ran an honourable race to be fifth behind the 90-1 winner Knight’s Choice, the number one Mullins hope Vauban once again failed to fire around Flemington.
Both Irish hopes raced towards the rear of the field in the $8 million Australian (€4.85 million) race that famously stops a nation but Vauban couldn’t quicken up and eventually finished 11th, three places better than last year.
“Obviously Vauban doesn’t like conditions down here, which is disappointing. Everything went well beforehand, but you could see from halfway that he wasn’t enjoying it,” Mullins said.
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However, the jumps maestro who finished runner-up six times in the Cheltenham Gold Cup before eventually landing steeplechasing’s “Blue Riband” is already thinking of 2025.
“We’ll keep coming back if we have the ammunition and I think Absurde will return. The owners are keen as they’ve had a wonderful time,” he said. “We’ve bought a few new horses that might make into Melbourne Cup horses, so the quest is still on.”
The prevailing dry weather, and the resultant good ground conditions, means the full might of Mullins’s National Hunt team is still to emerge.
Nevertheless, Saint Sam is likely to start favourite to give Mullins a sixth win in seven years in Thursday’s Grade Two Clonmel Oil Chase.
Only Fakir D’oudairies interrupted that dominance in 2021 and Joseph O’Brien’s stalwart is also in the six-runner line-up for the €60,000 feature.
Mullins has just three weekend entries divided between Gowran and Naas on Sunday, where the star attraction could be the 2023 Cheltenham Festival winner Marine Nationale.
The Barry Connell owned and trained star hasn’t been seen since losing his unbeaten record behind Il Etait Temps at the Dublin Racing Festival in February.
He is one of seven left in the Grade Three Barberstown Castle Chase after Tuesday’s latest acceptance stage.
Also on the Sunday card, the Galway Hurdle winner Nurburgring may make his debut over fences in a Beginners’ Chase.
Colin Keane was crowned champion jockey on the final day of the flat season on turf at the Curragh on Sunday but is quickly back into all-weather action at Dundalk on Wednesday afternoon. Keane has four rides including Tastyee, who could be worth noting in one of the 10-furlong handicaps up for grabs.
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