Willie Mullins backs his two-time Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs despite loss to Fact To File
Fact To File is steeplechasing's rising star but Willie Mullins does not believe Galopin Des Champs is finished yet.
Willie Mullins still has two-time Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs top of his pecking order DESPITE the presence of rising star Fact To File in his yard.
Mullins holds the enviable position of training the best steeplechaser in National Hunt as well as the pretender to the throne.
And the Carlow-based record breaking trainer is reluctant to give up on his champion just yet.
Read more: Irish Cheltenham winning trainer and jockey combination split after disagreement
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Mullins said: “Fact To File ran a fantastic race the other day; he jumped well. It was tough racing because he was being marked the whole time by Fastorslow.
“He learned a lot in that chase compared to what he might have learned as a novice and that'll bring him on hugely.
“He won the Brown Advisory last year and I think another furlong and a half up the hill in the Gold Cup wouldn't be a problem for him. He's a nice horse to have anything to do with.”
And it is even nicer to also have the 2023 and 2024 Gold Cup winner in his yard - contender and champion next door to one another.
But Mullins warned: “Look at JP (McManus); he's got Spillane's Tower there and he's in everyone's mind too.
“While it is amazing to have two horses like that in a stable, the fact is that every morning you wake up, you're wondering if the two of them are still okay, after every run, after every bit of work. You wonder will they pull a muscle which will put them out for Cheltenham?
“With these big staying horses especially, for every week they miss (training), you won't run for the same length of time that they will be out. Fingers crossed they all stay sound.
“Fact To File is huge; he's over 17 hands 2 and a half but is a very athletic horse as well, which is what I loved about him from day one, how big and athletic he was.
“So I hope the two of them will be loading up in our lorry come Cheltenham. Fact To File still has to get up there and do it, Galopin Des Champs has done it.
“I think he's still on top of his game so I'm looking forward to seeing how he handles this year.
“I'd hate to be taking on a double Gold Cup winner and while pretenders have to have their go, the fact is that Galopin Des Champs has won it.”
Fact To File did defeat Galopin Des Champs last Sunday at Punchestown but that win comes with an asterisk attached.
For starters, Galopin Des Champs missed two weeks training after getting a thorn in a muscle.
Mullins said: “Missing those few weeks was crucial. I wanted to get a run into him before Christmas, so I took a chance.
“I thought he ran a cracker (at Punchestown on Sunday). He did all the donkey work in the race. For his first run, a hell of a run. I took a look out of it.”
One issue irking Mullins right now is the loss of a Grade One two-mile race from the Irish racing calendar.
He said: “Was there a need to lose it? It’ll lop-side the whole season now for Cheltenham. We had probably the best system, Leopardstown, Dublin Racing Festival and on to Cheltenham. That system yields so many good horses and winners. I didn’t see the need to lose it.
“I’m not sure there was an imbalance. But there is now.
“I’d like to know who made the decision to scrap it and why? Irish racing has grown with the programme that was put in place 30 years ago. Now we seem to have someone dismantling that programme and I’m not sure this was a tweak that was needed.
“We’re looking at the programme for our two-milers, thinking ‘Right we’ll probably have to go England or miss Dublin Racing Festival with the top ones.’ So Irish racing might be going to miss out.
“The grade one race was always there. It was lovely where it was (last day). They’ve moved it and to replace the grade one two-mile they’ve put in a handicap hurdle? It’s like people thinking “People were idiots 30 years ago.” I think they had more experience than a lot of people there now.
“Why change for the sake of change. I don’t think it made the programme any better.”
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