Over the last decade or so, Willie Mullins has become the trainer to beat at the Cheltenham Festival and doing so is no easy feat. You just need to look at the recipients of the Top Trainer accolade over the last 10 years for proof. The Irish trainer has swept up seven of the awards since 2011, and it’ll come as no surprise that the 64-year-old is heavily fancied in the betting exchange to be named the
Leading Trainer again.
For all his success at Prestbury Park over the years, the Gold Cup was one that often eluded his grasp. So much so in fact, that Mullins recently admitted that he had given up on his dream of winning the Festival’s showpiece race. However, dreams finally became a reality for the County Kilkenny-native in 2019, when Al Boum Photo defied the odds to land Mullins his maiden victory in the Gold Cup.
The now nine-year-old was 12/1 heading into the Grade 1 race. However, he produced a fantastic run, which saw him romp over the line over two lengths clear of 22/1 shot Anibale Fly. Amazingly, Al Boum Photo became the first horse since Best Mate in the early 2000s to win the race back-to-back last year, beating the Nicky Henderson-trained Santini over the line by a neck.
This year, the Joe Donnelly-owned horse is on the brink of making history, as he has his sights firmly set on landing a third successive victory in the Gold Cup, which would see his name etched into the history books alongside the likes of the legendary Arkle and the aforementioned fan-favorite Best Mate.
For Mullins, it’s hard to believe that Al Boum Photo is well and truly on course to make history on March 19th and admitted that it would be an ‘extraordinary’ feat should they pull it off. “Two years ago I had given up on the dream of winning a Gold Cup at all and now it’s unbelievable to be on the brink of an Arkle achievement,” Mullins said recently. “It would be extraordinary if he managed to do it. We never dreamed he would.
“He is easy to train, that’s the thing about him. When you see him in a field, he’s unremarkable, but he stands out when he’s on his own. He’s always looking over a hedge to see what’s going on but when among the horses he’s just ‘Ordinary Joe’.”
Al Boum Photo is as short as 3/1 to win the showpiece race this year, around the same price as 12 months ago. But, of course, he will face stiff opposition from the rest of the field. Champ gathered steam in the betting with a solid outing at Newbury recently, which filled two-time Gold Cup winning trainer Henderson with confidence, whilst Henry de Bromhead and jockey Rachel Blackmore will fancy their chances of landing an inaugural showpiece victory with A Plus Tard.
These are two horses which Mullins claimed must be taken ‘seriously’ ahead of the Al Boum Photo’s hattrick attempt.
“I think you have to take both A Plus Tard and Champ seriously,” he added. “Both are stayers. A Plus Tard is bred to stay and Champ proved that he stayed all day last year. The two have both put in huge performances as their prep run.”
