Fairyhouse Easter Festival: Gaelic Warrior a possible, says Mullins

Brilliant Arkle winner Gaelic Warrior may be back out quickly for the Grade One WillowWarm Gold Cup at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival on March 31.

Stablemate and subsequent dual Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs ran at both meetings as a novice, falling at the last when well clear in the Turners Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham before strolling to victory a month later.

The two races are closer together this season at just 19 days apart but trainer Willie Mullins has not completely ruled it out.

“I'm very happy with him” said Mullins.

“He has a huge amount of ability. He won the three-mile novice hurdle at Punchestown that Galopin Des Champs won so I was never worried about his stamina, but the fact he can do this over a shorter trip to me is fantastic, it shows me that he has class.

“Ted Walsh always said a good Gold Cup winner could win a Champion Chase, as that is how you separate the ordinary Gold Cup winners from the very good ones, and this fellow has that type of ability, I think.”

Should Gaelic Warrior be given more time to recuperate, Blood Destiny is likely to try to give Mullins a sixth successive win in the race.

“I’m looking at Blood Destiny, he’s one that could go there. This race has been on my mind a while for him. We tried him at two miles and I think just the different way of riding him too - we had him up [with the pace] in Navan – and that might suit for this race too. 

“He has the speed when you need it so if Gaelic Warrior doesn’t come back for it, Blood Destiny would look a good substitute.”

Of his other entries in the Easter Sunday feature, Mullins added: “Facile Vega disappointed me at Cheltenham, I need to find out what is wrong with him.

“His home work suggests that he has the ability, indeed all his home work - his last three bits of work before Cheltenham - we thought he had a really, really good chance. Maybe we left our race on the gallops in Closutton because he was working fantastic but he is taking a lot of working out.

“Fact To File had a hard enough race so I doubt he’d run, but Hercule Du Seuil worked well this morning and I'm bery happy with him.

“Il Etait Temps is a good, hardy horse and I think he's one that could come back for this as well.  Minella Cocooner is in the National and will probably take his chance in that, and Mister Policeman won the other day but this will probably come too soon.

If the ground came up nice and dry and we had a dry two weeks I'd let Sharjah take his chance. Tactical Move could easily; he's one with plenty of ability and he's a nice type now for that.”

The other Grade One event at the Easter meeting is the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle in which Jade De Grugy may attempt to atone for her Cheltenham defeat behind Golden Ace.

“Jade De Grugy could run. I think you could say all the three Irish horses in her race were all marking one another. No one wanted to commit but then it was great to see Jeremy Scott winning, he had a great fan club there and it added a bit of atmosphere to the day,” said Mullins.

"She certainly has the ability and she has run atthe track as well. Just sometimes coming back with a mare, it takes a lot out of them after Cheltenham. 

“We have A Penny A Hundred with a chance, Cuta Des As with a chance but Fun Fun Fun could be the one if Jade De Grugy didn't make it.

"She was very impressive the last day and she didn’t go to Cheltenham."

On the race itself, Mullins added: "This is a Grade One and while it’s lovely to win in Cheltenham, I like to win Grade Ones, especially with mares, so it’s more important to go to Fairyhouse. We certainly did a lot of thinking this year regarding what we were keeping back for this rather than going to Cheltenham. 

"I think this race will get more significance over the years because the prize money is coming up and it's a Grade One - in Cheltenham it was only a Grade Two. If you think you have a Grade One filly, stay at home."