Fact To File won the Grade 1 match race on Sunday

Willie Mullins rules at Dublin Racing Festival, but where will Ballyburn and Fact To File go next?

By Ben Linfoot

Horse Racing

Mon February 05, 2024 · 2y ago

Ben Linfoot was our man at the Dublin Racing Festival and left pondering some big-name dilemmas after Willie Mullins swept all before him.

So here are the trainers of the eight Grade 1s at the Dublin Racing Festival; Mullins, Mullins, Mullins, Mullins, Mullins, Mullins, Mullins, Mullins. A clean sweep for Willie Mullins and it is of no real surprise after watching this meeting become dominated by one man since its inception in 2018. On day two of the 2024 DRF, nobody else got a sniff.

Performance of the day? It’s hard to say given all four winners were impressive in their own ways. El Fabiolo showed a rapid change of gear to sprint away from his toiling rivals in the Dublin Chase, hardening as the 2/5 favourite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Jonbon will have to regain his best form and some to give this fellow a contest. Even the omission of the last fence due to low sun, having jumped it on the first circuit, couldn’t put off El Fab who sauntered to success.

In the Irish Champion Hurdle State Man hurdled with his usual fluency to win easily, cementing his status as Ireland’s number one in the race to take on Constitution Hill. The Impaire Et Passe team tried something different this time, and fair play to them for that, but he didn’t look to enjoy things out in the lead, getting in close to a few and jumping right, beaten for second in the end by Bob Olinger.

All business for Mullins, spinning in the winners’ enclosure smiling with high-profile owner after high-profile owner. There’s barely time to talk horses between races, which is perhaps one reason why reporters got given the short shrift when asked about Ballyburn’s Cheltenham Festival target. “I’m going to talk about today and leave it at that,” the 17-times Irish Champion trainer said, sternly.

Under The Spotlight: Matt Brocklebank focuses on Ballyburn

Maybe we’ll get more out of co-owner David Manasseh, rubbing his hands after scooping the €88,500 first prize. “We’ll leave that to Willie Mullins,” his predictable response.

We’re left with guesswork, then. Ballyburn was cut to as short as 5/4 for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and as short as 11/10 for the Baring Bingham. No chances are being taken by the bookies there, for all that he was impressive, but my gut feeling is that he’ll step up in trip for the 2m5f novice at the Festival.

His pedigree is all stamina and the intermediate race was the one his trainer pinpointed for him on these pages way back in October. With a few flights omitted due to the low sun you could argue he still has to prove his hurdling technique for a speed test and the way he won this, so strong at the finish, was reminiscent of Sir Gerhard who won this race for the same stable in 2022 before his own Baring Bingham success.

Earlier on, the curious case of the Ladbrokes Novice Chase summed up the 2024 DRF in a nutshell. There was to be no Faugheen-like roar after he won this race at the grand old age of 12 in 2020, the spine-tingling moments like his and Honeysuckle’s sadly missing from this weekend, this race in particular becoming a damp squib.

Certainly, this match race was not of your Seabiscuit v War Admiral standard, the non-runners leaving stablemates Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File to fight it out, although all the fight in Gaelic Warrior was gone before they even turned for home, the odds-on favourite so disappointing and running as if something was amiss before he crashed out at the last.

Gaelic Warrior unships Paul Townend

By then Fact To File was coasting home and he’s a smashing prospect, again one with Cheltenham options. Cut to as short as 6/4 for the Turners over the intermediate distance and 9/4 for the Brown Advisory over three miles, Mullins was just as non-committal as he was with Ballyburn, saying: “I’ll have a word with JP [McManus] and Frank [Berry] and see what they want to do.”

This is a tough one and thoughts go back to Florida Pearl 26 years ago, Mullins’ first big-name staying chaser, who had a very similar profile to Fact To File. Both were fast-tracked from bumpers to chasing without jumping a hurdle in public, both were emphatic winners of a beginners’ chase at Leopardstown and Florida Pearl won an earlier incarnation of the race Fact To File landed today when he won what was the Dr. P. J Moriarty Memorial Novice Chase in the February of 1998.

He went on to win the Royal & SunAlliance Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham (now Brown Advisory), over three miles, but the Turners didn’t exist then. To be honest, I think he could win either race, so we’ll do a David Manasseh and leave it to Willie Mullins.

Mullins, Mullins, Mullins. Of course we had to end with him. His dominance is staggering, his achievements unlikely to ever be surpassed. But while you can only doff your cap to the empire he has built, you can’t help but feel this meeting needs more than Mullins.

Three beaten horses to follow from the DRF...

Slade Steel – Cut to 16/1 for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’

Ballyburn was obviously superb in the Tattersalls Novice Hurdle but runner-up Slade Steel continued his progression nicely with a good run in second and the son of Telescope should still be on the radar for Cheltenham. He is second favourite for the Baring Bingham over 2m5f and that looks the obvious choice, but there is a chance he might go for whichever race Ballyburn doesn’t and that could mean a tilt for the Sky Bet Supreme, for which he was cut to 16/1. Two miles is probably on the sharp side for him, as this run suggested, but a hell for leather two at the Festival with the stiff finish is a different kettle of fish, so I wouldn’t be too surprised if he turns up in the Cheltenham opener.

What they said: Henry de Bromhead: “We were delighted, he hurdled really well and they went a good gallop. Obviously it was a very good horse that beat him. He’s won over 2m4f so we know he stays and this gives us options. We wanted to do that to see where we were and we’ll see where we go, it’ll either be the Supreme or the Ballymore.”

Feet Of A Dancer – One to watch up in trip in the spring

The Irish Stallion Farms EBF Paddy Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle opened up day two of the DRF at Leopardstown and they went quick thanks to some baton passing between Belle of Annandale and then Minx Tiara. Brucio picked up the pieces, but Paul Nolan’s Feet Of A Dancer followed the winner through before finishing third and she looks one to watch when stepping back up to 2m4f later in the season.

What they said: Paul Nolan: “She was flat to the boards the whole way. Dropping back two furlongs certainly wasn’t an asset, but she’s a lovely attitude. They went so quick, I thought Sean [Flanagan] gave her a super ride and she’s hopefully on the way up. She’s a deadly little jumper. She’s too immature for Cheltenham, a step too far this year, but we’ll aim for something at Fairyhouse or Punchestown.”

Predators Gold – Out to 25/1 for the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle

The Dublin Racing Festival kicked off on soft ground that was further softened by incessant drizzle throughout the day. As a result they went a sedate pace in the opening Grade 1 Nathaniel Lacy & Partners Solicitors Novice Hurdle and still finished tired, Dancing City winning from stablemate and even-money favourite Predators Gold, who had chased home Caldwell Potter on his previous start. All is not lost for the runner-up who ran well after failing to settle here and he looks a potential player at an each-way price in the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle over 2m5f at the Cheltenham Festival.

What they said: Willie Mullins: “I thought Predators Gold might win the race, but Paul [Townend] said he was doing a little too much throughout. He looks more like a Ballymore horse.”

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