Wise to remain sceptical when the hype machine is in overdrive
Trained by Willie Mullins for Gigginstown House Stud, the five-year-old proved a shock winner, cropping up at odds of 33-1.
Presumably, however, Mullins and the Gigginstown team of Michael and Eddie O’Leary viewed the outcome with mixed feelings.
The problem, of course, is that run-of the-mill Mckinley beat into second Gigginstown’s and Mullins’ Tell Us More, arguably the biggest talking horse among novice hurdlers in Britain and Ireland this campaign.
At the off you could have backed Mckinley at 79-1 on the exchanges and here’s one who would not have taken odds of 179-1.
Quite simply, it was impossible to make any sort of case for him and the fact he was able to beat both Tell Us More, and the highly regarded Gordon Eliott-trained Free Expression, was inexplicable, defying any sort of logic.
Mckinley had been pulled up a few days earlier at Leopardstown, when Paul Townend felt he had gone amiss, which subsequently proved not to be the case.
Prior to that, he had beaten the unreliable and less than enthusiastic Fort Smith at Navan.
The same Fort Smith, of course, emphasised he really is one to avoid when finishing third in a bad maiden hurdle at Naas last Sunday, after going off at odds of 1-7.
Before Navan, Mckinley had run in the Lartigue Handicap Hurdle at Listowel, finishing a well-beaten fourth behind Orgilgo Bay.
He was actually in receipt of 3lbs from Orgilgo Bay, when claims are taken into account, and it was essentially impossible at that stage to envisage Mckinley winning any sort of Graded contest though the winter, not to mind a Grade 1.
In contrast his much more highly regarded stable companion, Tell Us More, was clearly thought of as a Grade 1 winner in waiting.
That was not based on any evidence supplied by the form book, but the mutterings of those who were closest to the horse.
The bottom line is that everyone associated with the Mullins yard seemed to be raving about Tell Us More.
His record heading to Naaas was winning his only point-to-point, then a point-to-point bumper at Gowran Park in March, before making his debut over flights, back at Gowran, in November.
He won a maiden hurdle then, by 11 lengths, and it was a very pleasing display, at least visually.
But his immediate victim, Nimdani, was ordinary heading to Gowran and has shaped as even more ordinary in the meantime.
For instance, he was in action at Tramore on New Year’s Day and was beaten over 60 lengths when fifth behind another Mullins inmate, Avant Tout.
So, Tell Us More went to Naas guaranteed to go off an odds-on shot for a Grade 1, purely on talk, rather than anything he had achieved on the racecourse.
On top of that, he was also the ante-post favourite for the Neptune Investment Management Novice Hurdle at Cheltenham.
The lesson to be learned one more time is that hype has to be recognised for what it is, just hype, and, unless the form is in the book, it is nearly always wise to remain sceptical, until knowing better.
When the dust had settled on Sunday night, Mullins and the O’Leary clan surely had to be disappointed.
That would have to be thought of as an amazing reaction, following success in such a prestigious and competitive Grade 1.
But Tell Us More had potential superstar written all over him, while Mckinley had to be rated no more than minor player for a Gigginstown organisation dripping with talent.
But all is far from lost when it comes to Tell Us More. This was the first time he was involved in a real race, the first occasion he was requested to get down and dirty.
He ultimately failed to answer the call, but will have learned more than in his three previous laps of honour put together.
Mullins is a past master at getting it right on the big day with such horses. Remember Vautour last season?
He fell in from Western Boy at Punchestown in January, raising major question marks. After that, he just took off.
Mullins’ next move with Tell Us More will be nothing short of fascinating.
Hopefully, punters won’t eventually be moved to rename him - Tell Us No More!
Johnny Ward, in his analysis of the race in Tuesday’s Racing Post, probably summed it up best when he said: “An ordinary mares’ bumper, remarkable for the ride given the winner.’’
He was, of course, referring to the sheer audacity of Patrick Mullins in scoring on Honeys Joy the day before at Thurles.
The contest was run over two miles, but so wide did Mullins take Honeys Joy that she may well have gone perhaps as much as an extra two furlongs.
But she was racing on a surface that was as green as an Aidan O’Brien two-year-old, while the rest of the field ploughed their way over ground that could be best described as totally brown.
Honeys Joy seemed to skim across her obviously excellent play area and hardly turned a hair to win by eight lengths. When something like that works, it doesn’t half look good.
