Mullins on verge of Cheltenham milestone

By the end of Wednesday’s seven-race program at Cheltenham Racecourse in Britain, Irish trainer Willie Mullins may have reached 100 career wins at the track’s prestigious National Hunt festival, or be ominously close to being the first person to do so.

Mullins has odds-on favorites in three of the four Grade 1 races on Wednesday, a program as much about the future as the present. On Tuesday, the first of four consecutive days of racing at the Cheltenham festival, Mullins has two odds-on favorites in Grade 1 races, and expected favorites in three of the other five races.

Mullins began the week with 94 career wins at the Cheltenham festival. He has greatly benefited from the expansion of the famous week of racing for chasers and hurdlers from three days to four days in 2005, gaining greater opportunities.

On Wednesday, the 7-year-old gelding El Fabiolo will be around 1-2 to extend his unbeaten record over fences to seven wins for Mullins in the Grade 1 Queen Mother Champion Chase at about two miles.

El Fabiolo, who will be ridden by Paul Townend, won his lone start this year in the Grade 1 Dublin Chase at 2 1/16 miles by 8 1/2 lengths at Leopardstown on Feb. 4 to solidify his position as the leading two-mile chaser in Britain and Ireland.

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In the $512,200 Queen Mother Champion Chase, El Fabiolo has seven rivals, including Jonbon, a winner of seven of nine starts over fences.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase will be the third career meeting between El Fabiolo and Jonbon.

Jonbon beat El Fabiolo by a neck when they were first and second in a Grade 1 novices’ hurdle at Aintree in April 2022. In their only meeting over fences, El Fabiolo easily beat Jonbon by 5 1/2 lengths when they finished first and second in the Grade 1 Arkle Chase for novices at the 2023 Cheltenham festival.

Jonbon is trained by Nicky Henderson, who is second on the all-time list of leading trainers at the Cheltenham festival with 73 wins.

Earlier on Wednesday’s program, Mullins has heavy favorites in two Grade 1 races for novices, the sort of runners who could appear in the leading races at Cheltenham in coming years.

Ballyburn, who has won his last two starts by 32 lengths, leads a field of eight in the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle at 2 5/8 miles. The Mullins-trained Ile Atlantique, second by a neck in a Grade 1 novice hurdle at 2 1/2 miles at Naas Racecourse in his stakes debut on Jan. 12, is considered a viable candidate.

The Mullins-trained Fact to File has only five rivals in the Grade 1 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at 3 1/16 miles.

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Fact to File is accustomed to racing against small fields. After finishing second in a six-runner beginners chase in November, Fact to File beat four rivals by 17 lengths in a beginners chase at Leopardstown on Dec. 18, and won a de-facto intramural match race against stablemate Gaelic Warrior in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Novice Chase at 2 11/16 miles at Leopardstown on Feb. 4.

The race drew five, but three runners were scratched. Gaelic Warrior was well-beaten by Fact to File when he unseated jockey Townend at the last of 14 fences. Gaelic Warrior is entered to race at Cheltenham on Tuesday.

Wednesday’s Cheltenham program begins at 9:30 a.m. Eastern or 6:30 a.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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