Willie Mullins cause for concern has been increasing since the turn of the year
These are worrying times for Willie Mullins, with plenty of evidence to suggest many of his horses are performing well below their capabilities, says .
The signs have been there for a while, but cause for concern has been increasing since the turn of the year.
There were indications over the Christmas period that Mullins’ charges may indeed have a problem, but what began as, perhaps, a minor issue has developed into, arguably, something altogether more serious.
During Christmas there were a number of Mullins’ horses that did not come up to expectations, starting with Defy De Mee in a maiden hurdle at Leopardstown on St Stephen’s Day.
Having run a cracker when second at Fairyhouse previously, there was every reason to believe he would build on that.
But, after attempting to make all the running, Defy Du Me folded in the straight to finish a remote fifth behind City Island. He was found to be post-race normal.
Later that day, Mullins had three more of his well fancied horses beaten, La Sorelita, Voix Du Reve and Allaho. None of them was disgraced and, maybe, they just weren’t good enough!
Then the third day of Leopardstown, the Friday, saw Mullins’ French-import, Elite Charboniere, successful in a bumper in his native country, backed as if defeat was out of the question in a 16-runner maiden hurdle, going off at 4-6.
To say he ran badly would be a real understatement, trailing in ninth, ten lengths adrift of the eighth horse. Elite Charboniere was subsequently found to be blowing hard.
Then there was Mullins’ talking horse, Annamix, who appeared in a maiden hurdle at Limerick on the Friday of Christmas. He ran perfectly respectably to finish two and three parts of a length second, but was beaten by the well exposed Press Conference.
Overall, however, there weren’t sufficient indicators to start thinking the Mullins horses may be somewhat under the weather.
He still enjoyed a very good Christmas at the nine meetings that took place, four each at Leopardstown and Limerick and one at Down Royal. Mullins won ten races in total, including three Grade 1’s.
But the New Year has been more dramatic, as the situation has slowly but surely got worse, essentially starting with Naas on January 6 and a two and a half-mile Grade 1 novice hurdle.
Mullins saddled three of the eight runners, with the least fancied, Getareason (12-1), doing best in third behind the impressive Battleoverdoyen and Sams Profile.
His Tornado Flyer, one of the leading bumper horses of last season and easy winner of his maiden hurdle on his debut at Punchestown, never lifted a leg and was miles behind when pulled up by Ruby Walsh after the seventh. He was post-race normal.
Mullins’ nicely supported Come To Me, a 17 lengths winner of his maiden at Cork, finished seventh of seven finishers, 32 lengths behind the sixth horse. He was found to be coughing after the race.
At Clonmel last Thursday week, Mullins’ ex-French horse, Dento Des Obeaux, went off the 13-8 favourite to take a modest maiden hurdle.
He travelled beautifully for much of the journey, but then stopped as if shot down hill to the home turn. The six-year-old eventually finished 11th, having burst blood vessels.
At Fairyhouse last Saturday, the aforementioned La Sorelita, who ran with promise at Leopardstown, was the 7-4 favourite to win a decent four-year-old hurdle.
That contest saw Gordon Elliott’s Surin beat Joseph O’Brien’s Gardens Of Babylon by a short head, with La Sorelita, prominent from the start, showing little fight in the straight to finish a further 12 lengths away in third. She was post-race normal.
Onto Punchestown on Sunday and the Grade 2 Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle, with Mullins throwing two darts at the board, the Tramore winner, Harrie, and the Navan winner, Buildmeupbuttercup.
Harrie was hard enough to fancy and did reasonably well to finish 18 lengths third behind Felix Desjy.
Better could have been anticipated from Buildmeupbuttercup, though, and she went off the 9-4 favourite.
She ran a stinker and was legless in the straight, taking fifth and beaten 30 lengths. The mare was blowing hard after the race.
And finally, there was Fasola Tido in a mares’ bumper at Punchestown on Monday. She made a promising debut when runner up at Fairyhouse on December 15 and, normally, could be confidently expected to build on that.
Mullins was interviewed prior to the contest on Racing TV and indicated he was expecting a big run from her.
Fasola Tido was particularly strong in the market and went off the 11-10 market leader to beat nine rivals.
When the race began in earnest, she went out like a light and was beaten just under 19 lengths seventh behind all-the-way winner, The Caddy Rose. Fasola Tido was blowing hard after the race.
Mullins, of course, has had a winner here and there to very much keep the show on the road of late.
Season after season, however, we have become accustomed to the trainer’s horses improving throughout the campaign and nearly always running with astonishing consistency.
But right now, they are hit and miss, and one has to think there may be something wrong. It may not be a crisis just yet, but is certainly a mini-crisis, and, at the moment, if you back a Mullins inmate then you are left hoping for the best and fearing the worst.
No Un De Sceaux for Mullins at Ascot today, but after Navan and Thurles this weekend, where he only has a handful of runners, will we be thinking differently come Sunday night?
WHEN Joseph O’Brien’s Sir Erec beat Willie Mullins’ Tiger Tap Tap by a neck at Leopardstown, we expressed the opinion here that one of them would win the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham.
But watching Fozzy Stack’s Carlo Biraghi make a successful start over flights at Punchestown on Monday certainly gave you at least food for thought!
The three runs on the flat the son of Galileo had told us that potentially he was the makings of a good horse.
He began by landing a ten furlongs maiden decisively at the Curragh in May and you have to possess a fair amount of talent to do that.
Carlo Biraghi was far too free next time when fifth of five behind Giuseppe Garibaldi; he had beaten him into third when taking his maiden, in a Listed event at Leopardstown.
Then Stack’s charge was far from disgraced when beaten just over nine lengths when tenth of 12 behind Latrobe in the Irish Derby at the Curragh.
At Punchestown on Monday there was so much to like about the way he went about his business. His jumping was good, except for heading markedly left at the final flight.
What was so impressive, however, was the manner in which Carlo Biraghi powered clear on the run in.
We will have to note how the contest works out and will desperately want to see him in action again, but this was some start.
