A calculator will be an essential accessory for committed racegoers at Punchestown’s Festival meeting this week as, for the second year running, Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins throw everything at the final five days of their year-long tussle for the Irish trainers’ championship.
For one of the pair, disappointment awaits on Saturday and, if it is Mullins who gets over the line to win his 11th straight title and his 12th in all, Elliott will spend the summer wondering just what he needs to do to get his name on the roll of honour for the first time.
Highlights of Elliott’s campaign in Ireland include becoming the first Irish jumps trainer to reach 200 winners in a season, winning six out of eight races on a single card at Punchestown last autumn, and claiming his first success in the Irish Grand National on Easter Monday. He was cut to 1-3 to win the title after the latter success and starts the Punchestown Festival with a lead of €520,000 over Mullins, yet his price to win the championship has drifted to 8-11.
One reason for that is the memory of last year’s meeting, when Elliott went into the opening day with lead of around €400,000 which Mullins managed to overhaul by the middle of day four. In the end, he outscored Elliott by about €600,000 over the week and something similar this time around would inflict another demoralising defeat on his great rival.
Elliott has 24 declared runners on Tuesday’s card while Mullins has 18, but the gap in quality between the two squads could prove more significant than the quantity as the Mullins team includes Douvan (5.30), Un De Sceaux and Min, three of the top-rated chasers in his stable, in the Grade One Boylesports Champion Chase.
Douvan appeared to be travelling with all of his old zest and enthusiasm before his fall four out in the Champion Chase at Cheltenham last month and is a worthy favourite to record the ninth Grade One win of his career, while Mullins also has an obvious chance in the Grade One novice hurdle with Getabird (4.20). Both Mullins and Elliott may be running for the second prize in the Growise Champion Novice Chase, though, as Henry de Bromhead’s Monalee (6.40), the runner-up in the RSA Chase at Cheltenham, will be difficult to beat.
Brighton stages its first meeting of the year on Tuesday afternoon with several course-and-distance winners on the card, including Baltic Prince (4.15), who looks like a very live 6-1 chance to beat Tigerwolf in the opener. Tigerwolf has been running well on the all-weather tracks but did not appear to enjoy his only previous trip to Brighton, while Baltic Prince was a winner here back in September.
Andalusite (5.25) has yet to win off a mark as high as today’s 66, but she looked better than ever when successful at Chelmsford last time out and was a comfortable winner off 62 over Tuesday’s track last year. She beat a big field from the front there and is the only confirmed pace-setting in today’s line-up, which makes 6-1 look like a very fair price. Oud Metha Bridge (4.30) looks best on the card at Yarmouth, while Dontminddboys (3.50) should go well over the jumps at Exeter.
Tuesday 24 April
Exeter: 1.40 Breaking Ground 2.15 Point N Shoot 2.45 L’Auberge Du Bois 3.15 Golden Sunrise 3.50 Dontminddboys 4.25 Denny Kerrell 5.00 Control Me 5.35 Master Baker
Yarmouth: 1.50 Luchador 2.25 Corrosive 2.55 Without Parole 3.25 Banksy’s Art 4.00 Crimson Rosette 4.30 Oud Metha Bridge (nb) 5.05 Global Excel 5.40 Nag’s Wag
Ludlow: 2.00 Gumball 2.35 Today Please 3.00 Rise Of An Empire 3.35 Apple Of Our Eye 4.05 Cheltenam De Vaige 4.40 Mr Mercurial 5.15 Imperial Aura
Brighton: 4.15 Baltic Prince 4.50 Al Manhalah 5.25 Andalusite (nap) 5.55 Harry Beau 6.30 Let’s Be Happy 7.05 Hint Of Grey 7.40 Pour La Victoire
Huntingdon: 4.35 Eskendash 5.10 Swatow 5.45 Nightfly 6.20 Lough Salt 6.55 Ratify 7.30 Silent Man 8.00 The Blue Bomber
