'He could trounce them' - Willie Mullins' four best Cheltenham Festival chances

‘He could trounce them’ – Willie Mullins’ four best Cheltenham Festival chances

Willie Mullins at the 2018 Cheltenham Festival

Liam Bramall

Published: January 6, 2025

Horse racing is in Liam's blood and his biggest passion is jumps racing. He can often be found at his favourite tracks; Chepstow and Cheltenham in the Autumn when the National Hunt action kicks off. In his own words: "I'm often referred to as a walking form book, a trait which comes in handy from time to time. My proudest tipping success to date was landing a whopping 682-1 accumulator at Epsom."

Willie Mullins has had a confusing start to the season and that certainly wasn’t helped by some inconsistent results over Christmas. Several of his established stars failed to fire and he now has far fewer ante-post Cheltenham Festival favourites than usual. Here we take a look at four horses that appear to be his best chances at this stage of the season. Take a look at our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.

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Ballyburn (Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase)

This horse was comfortably beaten by Sir Gino at Kempton over Christmas but that certainly wasn’t his true running. He was a dominant winner at Cheltenham last year and the step up to three miles for the first time under rules could well suit. We can expect a totally different animal come March and he should come roaring back to his brilliant best.

Ballyburn

Analysis

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Energumene (Champion Chase)

Two-time Champion Chase winner Energumene made an excellent return to racing in the Hilly Way Chase at Cork and is entitled to improve significantly for the run. Leopardstown could be on the agenda next and he can win there before going on to regain his crown at Cheltenham. He gets the nod over his enigmatic stablemate Gaelic Warrior, due to his consistent profile.

Energumene

Analysis

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Fact To File (Ryanair Chase)

One of JP McManus’ best horses, Fact To File was an awesome novice chaser last term. Mullins’ eight-year-old looked like he joined the race at the second-last when winning the Brown Advisory and left a lasting impression. His high cruising speed and accurate jumping makes the Ryanair the perfect target and he could absolutely trounce them over this trip.

Fact To File

Analysis

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Galopin Des Champs (Gold Cup)

The reigning dual Gold Cup winner is still the dominant force over three miles. He made all the running in the Savills Chase at Leopardstown and gained revenge over Fact To File in impressive fashion. It’s hard to find something to take him on with and Gold Cup number three could be on the cards.

Galopin Des Champs

Analysis

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