Willie Mullins: ‘Al Boum Photo is in a good place... we’re very privileged to have him’

It is only a couple of years since Mullins wondered if he would ever win a Gold Cup, and now he has a horse bidding to earn a place alongside Arkle and Best Mate as three-time winners

Kemboy and Ruth Dudfield lead the Mullins string on the gallops in Closutton, Co. Carlow, on a stable visit ahead of the Cheltenham Festival.  Picture: Niall Carson/PA

Willie Mullins has horses vying for or already clear favourite for half of the races at the upcoming Cheltenham Festival.

Reading that probably doesn’t do it justice. Sure, he hasn’t yet won a race at the 2021 Festival, and given the events of the past 12 months, it might the wrong year to tempt fate, but Mullins’ record with lesser teams tells us he is likely to turn this market dominance into winners on the four days between March 16 and 19.