Mullins bound for Doncaster in bid to claim hunt honours

Ireland’s record-breaking trainer has a number of intriguing entries in the supporting races to the prestigious Sky Bet Chase, the jumping highlight of the year on Town Moor.

Mullins has entered Morning Run, Petite Parisienne and Whiteout in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle in a bid to replicate the success of the great Annie Power in the corresponding race two years ago.

These are talented horses, with Petite Parisienne a confidence-boosting Grade One winner at last season’s Punchestown Festival for jockey Bryan Cooper who has, at times, struggled to cope with the pressure and expectation of being retained rider to the Gigginstown House Stud run by Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary and his brother Eddie.

Mullins is also triple-handed in the grand-national2016.co.uk Lightning Novices’ Chase at Doncaster on Saturday courtesy of Shaneshill, who finished runner-up in last season’s Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham and is unbeaten in two starts over fences, Avant Tout and Net D’Ecosse.

Though he has no runners in the Sky Bet Chase in which the 22 runners are headed by Jonjo O’Neill’s Gold Cup fourth Holywell, Mullins has multiple entries at Cheltenham’s Festival Trials Day on Saturday.

Perhaps the most significant is Gold Cup runner-up Djakadam whose 10 rivals could include last year’s Grand National hero Many Clouds whose participation hinges on a workout today, and Sue Smith’s Wakanda, who steps up in class after three impressive wins this season at Wetherby, Newcastle and Ascot under an in-form Danny Cook.

Though Mullins is currently 17th in the trainers’ title race behind the reigning champion Paul Nicholls, he has such a formidable stable of horses that he could wipe out the £750,000 arrears if many of his big guns – headed by Champion Hurdle hero Faugheen – prevail at Cheltenham.

Harry Whittington’s runaway Wetherby winner Woolstone One, who defied a penalty to win by 13 lengths at the West Yorkshire track 10 days ago, is set to miss the Cheltenham Festival.

The four-year-old is likely to be aimed at a Listed bumper at Sandown on Imperial Cup day at the beginning of March rather than be thrown into a white-hot Cheltenham Bumper when the Irish challenge, headed by the aforementioned Willie Mullins, is traditionally a formidable one.

“She’s very talented, it all comes very easily to her,” said Whittington. “I’m not sure what she beat, but she couldn’t have been more impressive and never came out of second and third gear. There’s no way she’d go to Cheltenham. It’s hard enough for geldings, never mind four-year-old fillies.”

Meanwhile, the horse’s jockey Gavin Sheehan will be in action at Wetherby today where he will be hoping that For Goodness Sake prevails in the opener for Warren Greatrex.

Both Sheehan and Greatrex have excelled at the track since Ladbrokes World Hurdle hero Cole Harden came to prominence when landing the West Yorkshire Hurdle in 2014.

York heroine Arabian Queen is to start her four-year-old campaign dropping back to a mile for the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes at Newbury in May.

Another likely target later in the season for the David Elsworth-trained filly would be the Juddmonte International at York, in which she lowered the colours of Derby and Arc hero Golden Horn last summer.