The 20-1 for the Festival may not last for Willie’s £570,000 pointer after today ⭐

Willie Mullins at the 2018 Cheltenham Festival

Thursday’s racing is going to take some getting! Both Chepstow and Clonmel host jumps cards and at present, they’re listed as heavy going. Stamina is likely to be the name of the game and our horse racing tips will certainly take that into account, with Newcastle and Chelmsford also hosting action on a busy day.

Most people’s attention will be on the 1.50pm at Clonmel, where the joint-most expensive pointer in Britain and Ireland will make its hurdling debut. Trained by Willie Mullins, endowed in the silks of Cheveley Park stud, he could be a potential star. See all the details about this Mullins-trained son of Getaway below.


1.50 Clonmel – Munster Hurdle

Costing an enormous £570,000 at the sales, it would be hugely disappointing if Classic Getaway didn’t develop into a world-beater. He was a dominant winner of a Borris House point back in November 2020 and was subsequently snapped up in 2020’s Goffs UK December Point-to-Point sale.

His sale equalled the price of Supreme favourite Jonbon and given the machine that horse is developing into, optimism has to be high. He made his rules debut at Tipperary in May, winning a bumper as he pleased, pushed clear to score in empathic fashion, suggesting the money wasn’t misplaced.

Given the way he glided through the heavy ground, Clonmel’s going won’t be a barrier to success. Although he’ll likely get further in time, 2m 4f is a good starting point and despite the strong opposition, he’s more than likely to go off as favourite for the Munster Hurdle.


Festival clues?

If you’re looking to get your antepost bet on prior to his hurdling debut, then these are the markets you can currently find him in:

  • Supreme Novices Hurdle: 25-1 (best price)
  • Ballymore Novices Hurdle: 16-1 (best price)
  • Albert Bartlett Novices Hurdle: 20-1 (best price)

His destination is very hard to judge, given that Mullins tends to keep his cards close to his chest with Festival targets. The Supreme looks the least likely of the options, with the Ballymore and Albert Bartlett both viable options for him.


If you back any of our selections you can watch them live on the free Racing Post app or racingpost.com. Simply log in to one of your bookmaker accounts and click ‘Watch live’ on the racecards.

Please Gamble Responsibly