Gaelic Warrior Arkle victory is one of the great Willie Mullins Cheltenham feats
Paul Townend onboard Gaelic Warrior celebrates winning the Arkle at Cheltenham alongside groom Rachael Robbins. Picture: ©INPHO/Tom Maher
Willie Mullins has worked countless wonders at Cheltenham but getting Gaelic Warrior back on to win the My Pension Expert Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices' Chase five weeks after a shocking display at the Dublin Racing Festival has to be regarded as one of his greatest Festival feats yet.
Gaelic Warrior was 17 lengths behind stablemate Fact To File when he unseated Paul Townend in the Ladbrokes Novice Chase and watching him stumble over the last it was hard to visualise him winning any race, let alone a Cheltenham race, any time soon.
It wasn’t just that he finished that race out on his feet. The other red flag was the clear evidence that he prefers going right-handed. After all, if he couldn’t win a Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle off a mark of 129, it was hard to see him win a Grade One chase on a left-handed course.
However, cometh the hour, the market spoke strongly in his favour and 2-1 favourite was unrecognisable from the horse who disappointed in Leopardstown.
Gaelic Warrior did threaten to overheat in the pre-race preliminaries before going out on track but he was a reformed character once there, showing no signs of the wayward jumping that undermined him in previous Festival visits before powering clear of Found A Fifty at the business end of proceedings.
“Once I got out of the shoot cantering down, he was much better,” Townend said. “Keen, but better, and actually that was as good a ride as I’ve got off him in a race. He jumped a lot straighter, there were two fences he shifted right just to sort himself out. Stamina came into play today and we know he stays. Willie’s done an unbelievable job on him.”Â
That he has.
“He settled in lovely in behind the horses, like a normal horse — that’s fantastic,” Mullins said. “You can see what a difference a hood made to him, he wasn’t inclined to jump right and Paul could ride the race on him. Paul said he was a dream ride.” For Mullins, there was deep satisfaction in seeing Gaelic Warrior put it all together on his third Festival visit.
“It is very satisfying,” Mullins admitted. “We’ve been watching at home all the time and thought he’d nearly be a guaranteed Cheltenham winner the last two years and it hadn’t worked out. Now it has done on a big day in the Arkle.
“When you saw how good he was at Limerick at Christmas you wouldn't believe he could run like he did at Leopardstown at the Dublin Racing Festival, I don't know what happened.” Looking to the future, Mullins said victory here has established that two miles is his optimum trip but characteristically left various doors open for the future.
“I think he's found his calling now, he looks a Champion Chaser, he could be a Ryanair horse and he won over three miles over hurdles, like Galopin Des Champs did. He’s very adaptable.” Winning owner Rich Ricci, who famously does not watch his horses when they race, was thrilled to see the decision to have another crack at Cheltenham pay off.
“The right thing to do with him was probably go to Fairyhouse and Punchestown as they are right-handed tracks, to come here and have the decision justified is very rewarding.
“He's a horse with immense ability, he has his quirks and if you saw him in the parade (ring) at Leopardstown, he can be a bit mad but that is wonderful.” As is his trainer. Not that that is news to anyone. His 95th Festival winner was one of his sweetest.
