Willie Mullins expects Facile Vega to prove he has enough speed for two miles in the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.
Willie Mullins is confident Facile Vega can prove he has more than enough speed for two miles in the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown on Tuesday.
A son of Walk In The Park out of the brilliant racemare Quevega, the six-year-old has always been held in the highest esteem by the champion trainer and has largely lived up to his reputation on the track.
He was unbeaten in four bumpers, including Grade One wins at the Cheltenham and Punchestown Festivals, and won his first starts over hurdles at Fairyhouse and Leopardstown.
But Facile Vega blotted his copyback when last of five finishers at the Dublin Racing Festival in February, a defeat Mullins put down to poor tactics, and while he was strongly fancied to bounce back to winning ways in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle last month he proved no match for Marine Nationale.
The latter defeat in particular, and the fact Quevega did most of her winning over long distances including four successive victories in the Champion Stayers Hurdle at Punchestown over three miles, has led some to question whether Facile Vega is now in need of a more searching test of stamina.
Mullins, though, has no fears about running his charge over the minimum trip.
“I’m not too worried about Facile Vega over two miles,” said the Closutton handler.
“I always thought Quevega had plenty of speed to win over two miles and I think she did earlier in her career in Punchestown, but we always went down the longer road with her because we had Hurricane Fly and Annie Power around that time.
“This fellow has plenty of speed. We saw that in Cheltenham, he was so fast down between the third-last and the second-last. He’s not short of speed. It’s just using it and it was just the way the race worked out in Cheltenham.”
Facile Vega is taken on by four rivals, including two stablemates in Diverge and Il Etait Temps, both of whom were not too far behind the hot favourite when third and fifth in the Supreme.
The field is completed by Oliver McKiernan’s outsider No Looking Back and and the Gordon Elliott-trained Found A Fifty, who failed to run up to expectations at Aintree less than a fortnight ago.
Elliott said: “Things just didn’t work out for Found A Fifty at Aintree. He’s a very talented animal and we didn’t see the best of him there and he’s one to be very excited about for the coming seasons.”
Mullins is also well represented in the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase, fielding four of the six runners for a Grade One contest run over an extended three miles.
Stable jockey Paul Townend has seemingly sided with Appreciate It over the Cheveley Park Stud-owned pair of Classic Getaway (Danny Mullins) and Sir Gerhard (Patrick Mullins), while Daryl Jacob partners James Du Berlais for his retaining owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede.
Appreciate It has been beaten in Grade Ones at Leopardstown, Cheltenham and Fairyhouse since the turn of the year and Mullins appears more hopeful than confident that a hike in distance will do the trick.
He said: “Appreciate It disappointed me a little bit in Fairyhouse. It might be too much coming back again (16 days later), but we’ve nothing left to lose and we’ll just let him take his chance.
“He’s a fair sort, I think, on his day. You’d have thought going up to two and a half miles should be enough for him. Sometimes horses lose their form and he might be one of those. Maybe he wants a trip, but he won’t be going there fresh.
“It’s going to be a tough race. He’s one of the higher-rated horses in it, but a lot will depend on what he does.”
Sir Gerhard was just over four lengths in front of Appreciate It when second in the same WilllowWarm Gold Cup on Easter Sunday, while Classic Getaway has been off the track since making a successful chasing debut at at Gowran Park in November.
Naas Grade Three winner Journey With Me is a major contender for Henry de Bromhead, while Feronily also merits respect for Emmet Mullins.
