Donn McClean reflects on the week's action in Ireland

It was some week for Willie Mullins: from Thyestes Chase day at Gowran Park on Thursday to the hunters chase that brought the curtain down on the weekend at Naas on Sunday.

Willie Mullins had won the Goffs Thyestes Chase seven times before they lined up in the fog on Thursday afternoon, and the market suggested that there was a good chance that he would make it eight, with Acapella Bourgeois and Chef Des Obeaux at the top of the handicap and towards the head of the betting. But the latter was never travelling and the former made mistakes, so it was left to Total Recall to emerge from the fog under the champion trainer’s nephew Danny Mullins to land the prize this time, with his stable companion, the 33/1 shot Class Conti, chasing him home.

We remember Total Recall in his pomp. The Slaneyville Syndicate’s horse won the Munster National at Limerick in October 2017 and he won the Ladbrokes Trophy at Newbury two months later. He hadn’t won a race in almost two years but, dropped to a handicap rating of 149, just 2lb higher than his Ladbrokes Trophy-winning mark, he proved that he was still well able to compete in these top staying handicap chases as an 11-year-old. More than that, he ran out an emphatic winner of one of the most competitive staying handicap chases on the Irish racing calendar.

The handicapper raised Total Recall by 9lb for Thursday’s win to a mark of 158, 2lb higher than his peak and, with an eye on the future, it is the places horses who are of greater interest.

Class Conti hadn’t gone on since he won at Tramore in April in his first run for Willie Mullins. This was much more like it though, he came from the rear and he kept on well to finish second. A 2lb hike is not harsh.

Minella Fair travelled well for a long way for Sean Flanagan around the inside, and his jumping was good. He moved up nicely just behind the leaders as they raced into the fog and rounded the home turn and, while he had no answer to Total Recall’s surge from the third last fence, he kept on well to finish third.

This was just Noel Meade’s horse’s sixth run over fences, and it was his best yet. The handicapper raised him by just 1lb to a mark of 139, and he will remain of interest off that mark. A progressive staying hurdler two seasons ago, he is nine now, but he is very lightly raced for his age, and there could be more to come, perhaps even over further than three miles.

By contrast, Ex Patriot might do better dropped slightly in trip. Ellmarie Holden’s horse went nicely too for Derek O’Connor. He got in tight to one or two fences in the back straight, but he never dropped too far off the leaders, and he appeared to be travelling well too just behind the leaders as they headed into the fog and into the home turn.

He jumped the third last fence in second place behind Total Recall and, while he kept on admirably over the last two fences, he made a tired-looking mistake at the final fence, and he ceded positions to Class Conti and Minella Fair from there. He kept on all right, but he might be even better over a slightly shorter. He is only seven, and he has the potential to go higher than his current mark of 146.

Just over an hour before Willie Mullins had the 1-2 in the Thyestes Chase, he had the 1-2-3 in the John Mulhern Galmoy Hurdle. It wasn’t really about the 2-3 though, this was all about the 1.

So Apple’s Jade under-performed, the mares’ duel never really happened, and it was left to Penhill and Killultagh Vic to chase Benie Des Dieux home. Susannah Ricci’s mare probably didn’t achieve much more on paper than Apple’s Jade achieved when she had those two horses behind her in winning the Frank Ward Memorial Hurdle at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival. But it was the manner in which she did it that was note-worthy, and the degree to which Paul Townend and Willie Mullins appeared to be impressed.

Benie Des Dieux hasn’t been beaten when she has completed since she joined Willie Mullins. Eight completions, eight wins. A triple Grade 1 winner over two and a half miles, she is obviously very good over that trip, but she may be even better over three. She has raced over three miles or more just twice, in the Galmoy Hurdle on Thursday and in the French Champion Hurdle at Auteuil last May, and she has impressed on both occasions.

That leaves her connections with an interesting conundrum for the Cheltenham Festival. The Mares’ Hurdle is the obvious race for her, if you subscribe to the run-in-the-race-that-you-think-you-have-the-best-chance-of-winning policy, but it was significant that Willie Mullins didn’t rule out a tilt at the Stayers’ Hurdle in his post-race interviews. She would be getting 7lb from Paisley Park in the Stayers’ Hurdle, and that would be fascinating.

The performance that Stormy Ireland put up in winning the Grade 3 Limestone Lad Hurdle at Naas on Sunday may have an impact on that decision. The Motivator mare was suited by the strong pace that Mengli Khan set, but she was still impressive in coming away from her rivals from the second last flight.

Willie Mullins’ mare was competing here over two miles, a distance that is probably short of her best. She has always been a free-going type, but she seems to be settling in her races much more easily these days than was the case last season. She appears to be settling better as she matures and continues to gain experience. She is only six. And she stays two and a half miles well.

She finished second to Roksana in the end in the Mares’ Hurdle last March, after Benie Des Dieux had departed at the final flight. She was only five then. She looks like an improved horse this season and she could do much better in this year’s Mares’ Hurdle than she did last year.

Minella Melody also looks like an improved horse this season. Henry de Bromhead’s mare was very good in bumpers last season, she finished second to The Glancing Queen in the Grade 2 mares’ bumper at Aintree’s Grand National meeting, for which she was sent off a warm favourite, and she finished third behind Gypsy Island in the Grade 3 mares’ bumper at the Punchestown Festival. Sent over hurdles this term, she is now three for three.

Kenny Alexander’s mare wasn’t overly impressive on the face of it in winning a listed mares’ hurdle at Punchestown in December, but there was mitigation that day. They didn’t go a great pace, and they took out a couple of flights in the back straight because of the low sun, which was not a positive, given how fluent she is over her hurdles. Even so, she battled on well that day to get the better of the two Gordon Elliott mares Mount Ida and Ard Abhainn, who enhanced the form next time by landing a listed mares’ novices’ hurdle at Thurles.

Minella Melody stepped forward again when she won the Grade 3 Eco Friendly Cups Solerina Mares Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Saturday. It was a good race, lots of potential improvers, six of the seven mares were last-time-out winners, and Colreevy won the Champion Bumper at Punchestown last May.

Rachael Blackmore quickly had Minella Melody into a good racing rhythm, settled in behind Colreevy. Her jumping was slick and fluent again and, moving up on the outside of the leader as they rounded the home turn, she stayed on well from the second last flight and won nicely.

This race has a star-studded roll of honour, including, as it does, Limini and Shattered Love and Laurina and Honeysuckle. The mares’ novices’ hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival is an obvious potential target for Minella Melody now, but she stays two and a half miles well, and it is interesting that her trainer said afterwards that she might be entered in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle as well. She is another exciting young mare for Kenny Alexander and Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore.

The Mullins staying novice chasers were up and at it too. Allaho at Fairyhouse on Saturday, Carefully Selected at Naas on Sunday.

Allaho was very good, he made all, he jumped well and he won easily, over two miles and five and a half furlongs. You couldn’t have asked for more really. It was a big step up on his chasing bow, his seasonal debut at Leopardtown at Christmas, when he finished second to his stable companion Easy Game. It’s worth bearing in mind with this weekend’s Dublin Racing Festival in mind: Willie Mullins horse steps up significantly on seasonal debut.

You automatically think of Allaho as an RSA Chase horse, a staying novice hurdler from last season, winner of a Grade 3 contest over three miles, third in the Albert Bartlett Hurdle. And he even holds an entry in the National Hunt Chase.

But he also holds an entry in the Marsh Chase, the old JLT, over two and a half miles, and Willie Mullins didn’t rule that race out.

Carefully Selected got the job done all right at Naas on Sunday, but it wasn’t straightforward. He wasn’t fluent at some of his fences, and he made a significant mistake at the third last fence, from which he did well to recover, but which sent him from first and cruising to third and ridden.

Ultimately, he stayed on well for Paul Townend to win by four lengths, after Spyglass Hill had departed at the second last fence, and it was a case of, exhale. He is now qualified for the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham. Perhaps this race came up quite quickly after he won the Grade 3 Killiney Chase at Punchestown just two weeks ago, but he is probably going to have to jump with more fluency if he is going to win a National Hunt Chase.

The Big Getaway was really impressive in winning the INH Stallion Owners EBF Maiden Hurdle, jumping to the front over the first flight and leading all the way from there to the winning line.

He is well named, a big strapping son of the dual German Group 1 winner, and he seemed to enjoy himself here, out in front and jumping and galloping. Willie Mullins said afterwards that he would probably go for the Ballymore Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, a race for which Sky Bet cut his odds to 12/1, non-runner-no-bet.

For more of Donn's work visit www.donnmcclean.com

GET THE FULL PICTURE: Don't miss out on FREE video replays and our fantastic My Stable tracker. Log in now and become a Sporting Life Insider.

Related horse racing links

• Sky Bet's racing odds
• Free horse racing betting tips
• Cheltenham Festival guide
• All today's racecards
• Today's fast results
• Today's full results
• Non-runners
• Today's Goings
• Today's Naps Table