By most headlines the seventh edition of the Dublin Racing Festival, held in Leopardstown at the weekend, was a triumph both for Irish sport in general and, of course, for leading trainer Willie Mullins. special.
The record crowd figure of 34,591 in 2023, a remarkable 40% increase on 2022, was broken once again, with 36,020 race participants over the two days and an estimated percentage traveling from the UK, leaving significant sums at local hotels. restaurants and bars also increased from 27% to 38%.
Relating to: Willie Mullins races four times for second time at Dublin Racing Festival weekend
The extent to which at least some of the visiting fans preferred Dublin in February over Cheltenham in March is not yet known. But those in a position to compare the experience and atmosphere of the two jumping festivals may have been left with the feeling that Leopardstown had much of the excitement and enthusiasm of its DRF counterpart next month, but without the rarely felt booze-fueled, warlike undercurrent. It’s a long way from the surface at Cheltenham.
Mullins, meanwhile, will head into the Festival with arguably his strongest hand yet and the happy problem of having to decide how many of his leading contenders will field each race, especially in the novice races.
In some ways, it wasn’t much of a surprise that Mullins dominated the weekend’s biggest events. He saddled 29 of the 48 First Class runners and seven favorites, five of whom started at odds. Of these, only Welsh Warrior failed to comply, having been beaten soundly by his stablemate Fact To File in the two-furlong novice chase.
All sorrows, if they were so, came on the first day; Il Etait Temps – by 6-1, by far the biggest price for Mullins’ winners – made the most of the disappointing run of Barry Connell’s Marine Nationale in the Irish Arkle Novice. The two favorites trained by Chase and Mullins were beaten by more stable companions. By the time El Fabiolo and State Man completed race eight, it seemed like a formality.
Mullins, of course, has long established himself as the most successful jumping coach the sport has ever seen, but it is only a few years since his dominance appeared to be seriously threatened by Gordon Elliott. Backed by the majority of the 60 horses taken from the Mullins yard by owner Michael O’Leary, Elliott took the Irish trainers’ championship several times leading up to the year’s final Festival at Punchestown but could not quite get over the line; He started Punchestown in 2016-17 with a 1-5 shot at the title.
Seven years later O’Leary returned as the owner of Mullins – two of the weekend’s beaten Grade One favorites were actually in his colors – and Elliott cut a somewhat dejected figure at Leopardstown as the half-dozen runners. All events were defeated. Farren Glory, the shortest price of the six in the two-mile novice hurdle, finished ninth out of 10 with 4-1, while Found A Fifty, for Irish Arkle, lost to Mullins’ Il Etait Temps in the final with 10-1. steps.
Amidst all the well-earned pleasure and satisfaction of a job well done, however, it’s hard not to wonder if even Mullins might be a little annoyed by the lack of competition. Whether they are successful or not, a long succession of odds-on favorites is bad news for betting turnover and, by extension, betting tax, a key consideration when the Irish government decides how much funding to give to the industry each year.
Elliott, meanwhile, was painfully aware that 29 of his horses would go under the hammer at Tattersalls Ireland on Monday afternoon after Andy and Gemma Brown, who own horses under the Caldwell Construction banner, made the decision – to general surprise. They sold all their strings after two runners were fatally injured within two weeks.
Many of the horses that went under the hammer on Monday – achieving a total of €5.29m (£4.52m) – were otherwise at Leopardstown over the weekend, including Caldwell Potter, the top lot for €740,000 (£632,000). It would be in competition. and the new record-setter for a National Hunt horse sold at auction to race for a syndicate that includes Sir Alex Ferguson, losing Grade One winner Hermes Allen to a fatal fall at Sandown on Saturday.
In total, Elliott managed to purchase four of the 29 horses outright, with many others likely to remain in the yard for their new owners. But Brown’s unexpected decision to quit is a setback Elliott can’t really stomach as he tries to gain ground against Mullins.
Reed Field 1.40 Öncü 2.10 Schmilsson 2.40 Galice Macalo 3.10 Sawpit Sienna 3.40 Bebside Banter 4.10 Coup De Gold 4.40 Rumble B
ludlow 1.50 Swift Hawk 2.20 Jackpot Cash 2.50 Ballybegg (nb) 3.20 Bonttay 3.50 Famoso 4.20 Tea Clipper 4.50 Queshi Bridge
Kempton 5.30 Violinist’s Elbow 6.00 Lesson 6.30 Neapolitan 7.00 Greatgadian (confectionery) 7.30 Heerathetrack 8.00 Astrophysics 8.30 The Magic of Nivelle
But the situation remains largely unchanged in terms of Ireland’s likely lead at Cheltenham next month. Caldwell Potter will join the Nicholls team with a 20-1 shot for the Supreme Novice Hurdle having won the Grade One at the Christmas meeting at Leopardstown last time, but there could be a longer term chase according to the bloodstock agent. Anthony Bromley, who bought the six-year-old on behalf of the new owners.
There are 14 Grade One races at Cheltenham next month and Mullins is single-handed favorite for seven. Only two market leaders for Grade Ones train in Britain: Nicky Henderson’s Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle and his stablemate Sir Gino in the Triumph. Looking further ahead, Irish stables have 61 of the 94 entries for the Grand National released on Tuesday and a new, earlier start time (4pm) for the big race. There could be another difficult and demoralizing spring ahead for Britain’s jumping stable.