More Mullins magic as trainer grabs another fine double

Thread Of Gold and Billy Lee (pink) win for trainer Willie Mullins. Pic: Healy Racing

A terrific Galway for Willie Mullins continued on Friday as the champion trainer claimed a fine double, his second win of the night and his seventh of the week coming in the featured Guinness Handicap, where Thread Of Gold justified 3-1 favouritism in the hands of Billy Lee, himself enjoying a brace.

It was a smart performance too as the Ghaiyyath gelding became the first three-year-old to win the ultra-competitive since Taraza in 2001.

“Every time I worked him at home last year, he worked better every day,” a delighted Mullins said.

“He’s just improving with racing. He was very free early on, but Billy got him settled in behind. He said once he got a bit of cover, he settled lovely.

“He was doing a half-speed into the dip. When you look at the head-on, you'd say he had no chance coming through that wall of horses but Billy said he had so much horse underneath him he was just waiting for the gaps to open and as soon as they did, he was gone through them.

“And what’s a great sign of a horse is what he did after the winning line, he couldn’t pull him up. That shows me that there’s huge improvement there. He has plenty of speed – we saw that year – but he also now has stamina. With the two of them, we have a proper racehorse.” 

Leg one of the Mullins double came in the Guinness Beginners Chase where Vicar Street justified 13-8 favouritism in the Guinness Beginners Chase, beating stablemate Ocastle Des Mottes by five and a half lengths in the hands of Harry Cobden.

Mullins said: “It was a good performance, he’s improving nicely and he had that bit more class than the second horse and won easy enough in the end.

“He made two little mistakes but he’s progressing nicely so hopefully we’ll move on to one of the other festivals, maybe Listowel.” 

Asked where the ceiling might be for the seven-year-old son of Galileo and Vroum Vroum Mag, Mullins replied: “With his pedigree he could go right to the top but he has been a little disappointing up to now. He’s just got to bridge that gap and maybe he’ll do that over fences.” 

There was a local success in the Guinness Galway Blazers Handicap Chase as Athenry trainer Paul Gilligan won the race for a third time, 5-1 favourite King’s Hill keeping up the gallop under JJ Slevin to land the spoils in fine style.

“It’s lovely to win here,” said Gilligan.

“This race has been good to us, it's the third time we have won it. We hunted with the Blazers as we grew up. My kids hunted with the Blazers. They are all involved at home, and it's a credit to them really, it's a real team effort.” 

Of King’s Hill, Gilligan added: “I’d love to think he would have been a Galway Plate horse. We might look at that next year.

“I would say we'll work back from the Galway Plate next year. He's a course and distance winner now, so we'll strongly consider it.” 

Gelded since his last run, Joga Bonito made it fourth time lucky when winning the opening race on the card, the James’s Gate Irish EBF Median Auction Maiden.

The first leg of the Billy Lee double, the 11-4 shot crossed the line three and a half lengths clear of 5-2 favourite Otherworldly, prompting winning trainer Paddy Twomey to say: “Around here you need experience and he’s a nice horse. The gelding operation was a help to him, he probably needed to become a gelding, he wasn’t a well-behaved colt. Today was the plan, to win his maiden and go forward and I think he’s a horse who can continue to progress.” 

The finish of the evening came in the Guinness Irish EBF Fillies Maiden where the John O’Donoghue-trained Stellar Moment, a 5-1 shot ridden by Ronan Whelan, denied Lee a treble by beating Porters Corner by a nose.

Michael Mulvany is enjoying a fine season and the Meath trainer got off the mark for the week when 100-30 favourite Jp’s Express won the Arthur Guinness Handicap under Wesley Joyce.

The most impressive winner of the evening came in the Hop House 13 Handicap where the Emmet Mullins-trained Vantage Code bolted up in the hands of Ben Coen at odds of 15-8.

There was respite for the bookies in the finale, the Rockshore Refreshingly Irish Race, as the Leigh Roche-ridden Counting Coup, an 11-1 shot, dug deep to deny Taipan by a nose for Cork-born handler Maurice Ahern, who now trains in Kildangan in Kildare.