Willie Mullins had plenty of winners at the Cheltenham Festival and he also scored at Aintree’s Grand National Festival. Having displayed such excellent winning form at the spring festivals in Britain, the master trainer has to be one to look out for at Punchestown. Ireland’s major spring extravaganza kicks off on Tuesday and we’ve combined five of his best chances into a huge 226-1 mega accumulator. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Night And Day (4-1, Paddy Power) is much better than she showed in a Grade 1 at Fairyhouse last time out. Stopping very quickly that day, that effort looked too bad to be true. She drops back to an extended two miles here and that combined with the drop in grade could facilitate a return to the winners’ enclosure.
Facile Vega (4-6, bet365) bounced back from a disappointing effort at Leopardstown on his penultimate start with a solid second to Marine Nationale in the Supreme at Cheltenham last time out. The fourth has boosted the form of that run by scoring in Grade 1 company at Aintree next time. Marine Nationale doesn’t re-oppose here and the stage looks set for another Facile Vega victory.
Energumene (2-5, bet365) was back to his brilliant best with an awesome victory in the Champion Chase at Cheltenham last time out. It’s true that he would probably prefer softer ground here but he should have too much for these regardless. Willie Mullins has four of the six runners in this race and even he would be surprised if Energumene doesn’t get the job done.
Predators Gold (price, bet365) was an expensive purchase as a three-year-old, at €100,000 and he represents some very powerful connections. Willie Mullins is the best trainer on either side of the Irish Sea and Gigginstown House Stud are one of the sport’s biggest owners. This often proves to be a very successful combination and no one would be surprised if Predators Gold came out on top.
Sir Gerhard (7-2, Paddy Power) has had an interrupted career since winning the Ballymore at Cheltenham in 2022. Poor jumping is what caused his downfall at Cheltenham on his penultimate start and he was much better on that front, when staying on well to finish a close second over 2m4f at Fairyhouse last time out. He’s been building up slowly and could arrive back at his best here.
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