El Fabiolo enjoys comfortable Cork success

The Willie Mullins-trained six-year-old was flawless as a novice over fences last season, winning each of his four starts, including a brilliant triumph over Jonbon in the Arkle at Cheltenham.

DOMINANT DISPLAY: El Fabiolo and Paul Townend win the Bar One Racing Hilly Way Steeplechase (Grade 2). Pic: Healy Racing

In justifying odds of 1-5 in Sunday’s feature at Cork Racecourse, El Fabiolo gave trainer Willie Mullins his fifth consecutive win in the Grade Two Bar One Racing Hilly Way Chase, and 15th in the last 17 runnings. Despite the odds, this wasn’t plain sailing as he raced particularly keenly in the early stages and lacked fluency over the first few.

Paul Townend was at pains to keep a lid on his enthusiasm and once he had him under a semblance of control, it was quite straightforward. After he raced home comfortably clear of Fil Dor, his trainer termed it ‘workmanlike’, but the performance gave every indication that the outing was badly needed.