Going - Soft, Soft to Heavy in places (Hurdle); Yielding to Soft, Soft in places (Chase). Overcast
Jackpot Pool - €24,858.53 Dividend - €28.70 Winning Units - 784.78. Placepot Pool - €89,747.37 Dividend - €74.30 Winning Units - 845.14. Days Aggregate - €595,140.52 Last Year €623,277.79
Slevin times it well on Brucio
I thought JJ had her in a great position and she jumped very well for a lightly raced mare. There were a couple of hares in front and luckily they have just gone a bit too hard. She’s won well in the end. She’s been steadily improving and won in Catterick the last day which was a good piece of race selection by Anthony (Bromley). We are in a different ball game today, but it has given her a bit of confidence. She has a wee touch of class about her, and it couldn’t have gone any better on the day. We have plenty of options now and we could think about the mares’ novice in Cheltenham or a good handicap somewhere. I was a wee bit worried about the ground today and I think she will handle nicer ground.
Fact comes home alone in Grade 1 novice
He’s always shown me he’s good. From the first day he came into the yard he was one that I marked down as ‘he could be anything’. He’s doing everything right. The race fell apart and I don’t know what happened Gallic Warrior. I didn’t get a chance to talk to Paul yet. He’s so laidback in the stable and so laidback in a race. He does everything Mark asks him to do and you could run him over two and a half miles or a Gold Cup trip. I’ll have a word with JP and Frank and see what they want to do.
Ballyburn the class act in novice hurdle
He met hurdle after hurdle right and was in control the whole way. Paul was very happy with how he did things. He did everything right over the minimum trip which is good. He has a very low head carriage which is usually a good sign in a horse, I like it, but it’s not nice for the jockeys at times.
Fabiolo fabulous as Mullins makes it magnificent seven Grade Ones
He did his job well because Dinoblue had worked very well during the week, and I thought if he made any mistake then she would definitely give him a race. Mark was very happy with her, so it was a good test and not a freebie by any means. She was getting 7lb from him and she is a good mare. He was very clean today and very good. Paul just sat very quiet on him, and he appreciated that and did his job. I’m delighted all the owners are here and they love coming to Ireland to race. They have raced in France and England extensively, but they say the experience here is way better. The appreciation Irish people have for racing is huge which you don’t get in other countries.
State imperious as Mullins completes Grade One clean sweep
It's been a superb weekend for the team. I'm delighted for my owners and my staff,. It's extraordinary, everything has come together. We have tremendous owners that invest in Irish racing and they love it. It's tremendous to have people like that bringing in money from abroad to put into Irish racing. We're the beneficiaries and we're very lucky. He's a lovely racehorse. Himself and Galopin Des Champs, Fact To File and El Fabiolo have beautiful temperaments and that's what you need, it's half the battle in a horse. It means the trainer can train them the way he wants to and the jockey can ride them the way he wants to. It makes life a lot easier for people involved. I thought Christmas was his best performance up until today. Today's race was different, we tried something different with Impaire Et Passe but he obviously didn't enjoy being out in front. I think he'll take a lead and maybe he needs another half mile, obviously he needs fences down the road. It was an experiment to go down the Champion Hurdle road this year and it doesn't look like it's working. The Champion Hurdle is there though and I think there are only two horses in front of him for me. Anyone of those can get injured or run bad on the day, if you are not in you can't win it. Everyone will put their tuppence worth in and we'll see what happens.
Wood wins big pot on handicap debut
He had a couple of nice runs in beginners chases and in all fairness it seemed a reasonable mark. We said we’d aim for here today and we’re delighted to win this. We’ll see what the handicapper thinks and then sit down and decide where we go.
Erskine lunges late to give Rogers memorable winner
Darragh knows him well and was very good on him. I was a bit worried about the ground but Darragh said it was no problem. I could never get him into a good race with a light weight and it was the same on the Flat. He’d a proper weight on his back today and there was a good gallop which suited him. His (late) owner Jerry Nolan was a pure gentleman. I rode winners for him and having an owner like him, you couldn’t buy them. He was easy to train for. This place has been good to me as a jockey and a trainer.
Fusil caps fantastic weekend for Mullins
Jody was excellent on the mare and it’s fantastic for Paddy Reilly (owner) — we could get a bar of a song!. She was very keen and Jody said she relaxed when she got to the front. She has a lovely stout French pedigree.
