Under The Radar: Mags Mullins reveals five horses to follow

Eagle’s Quest was impressive when winning the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish EBF Auction Maiden Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Saturday.

Sent to the front from flagfall by Danny Mullins, he was still travelling well in front when they straightened up for home. He got in a little tight to the second last, but he didn’t lose much momentum, and he got away from the obstacle quickly plus retained his advantage.  

He was good at the last and he kept on strongly up the run-in to win by just over a length from Simply Natural, with the first two pulling nicely clear of their rivals.

It was the latest winner in a season that has been ticking along very nicely for his trainer Mags Mullins.  

She sent Blaze The Way to Cheltenham during their December meeting, and he was impressive when winning the Grade Three 3m2½f handicap chase.

Young Rebel won his bumper at the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle meeting at Fairyhouse in November on his racecourse debut, and the runner-up was Moonverrin, Martin Hassett’s mare who won at Cork next time and then won the Grade Two mares’ bumper at the Dublin Racing Festival.

Young Rebel is sold now. That’s the business.  

Hillberry Hill stayed on well to win his maiden hurdle at Thurles in January, and he’s sold now, too. He sold for £70,000 at the ThoroughBid Sale in January, and has gone to Kim Bailey’s yard. That’s the economics of it. The wheel has to keep turning.

But Eagle’s Quest is staying, as is Blaze The Way, and the trainer has some nice three-year-olds who are all schooling away, as well as a few other nice horses to look forward to as we move into the spring.

Here are five from Mags Mullins' yard over the coming months, and what the trainer has to say about them. 

She was sent off at a big price when she won on her first run over hurdles at Ballinrobe last May.

She went a little bit flat after winning, but we left her off after October last year, and the break has done her good. She’s back in now and she’s going nicely, and we’re looking forward to getting her out again now soon.  

She’ll appreciate a bit of goodish ground, too.

It was great that he won at Cheltenham in December. He was very good, and he proved that he could handle the track.

I was happy enough with his run at Naas last time in a Grade Three contest. I wanted to get another run into him, and I wanted him to gain more experience.  

He’ll be going back to Cheltenham now, all going well, in two weeks time.  Lots can happen in two weeks, but he’s in great form at home and we know that he handles the track.  

He’s in the Plate and the Ultima, so he has options, but we’re probably looking at the Ultima, at present.  

We were delighted with his win in the Red Mills Maiden Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Saturday. He has had his issues - he had an injury which meant that he was off the track for over a year - but he has come back better than ever now, and the break may not have been a bad thing for him. Some horses need time.

There’s great prize money in the Red Mills series, and it’s a series that has been good to us in the past. It’s a great sponsorship by Red Mills, the prize money is very good.  

He’ll go back for the final of the series now, all going well. Better ground will suit him, too.

We were delighted to get him from Henry de Bromhead’s, he was a good horse for Henry. He won a Grade Three handicap chase at the Punchestown Festival a couple of years ago.  

He’s 11 years old now, but he’s a beautiful looking horse, and he kept on well to win a point-to-point at Oldtown on Saturday on his first run for me.  

He surprised me a bit, he won nicely. Sophie Carter rode him, and she gave him a lovely ride. He’ll go for the Tetratema Cup now at Gowran on 7th March, and I hope that he can go well in that.

He has been off for the winter, but he’s back in now, and we’re looking forward to getting him going again.

He won his beginners’ chase at Thurles in March last year, and he followed up by winning a handicap chase back at Thurles nine days later.  

He’s about five or six weeks off a run, but he seems to be in really good form, and he’ll appreciate it when the ground gets a bit better.