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2026 Ryanair Chase

FinalFurlong91 said:
I feel like the real issue is one yard having half the top grade 1 horses in training
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100% the main factor in all this nonsense, for all that people mainly focus on too much choice.

The sooner owners figure out that there's more than one man who knows how to train a horse, the better for the sport. And better for the owners in many cases too. If ricci had Lossiemouth in training with dan skelton she might be a two time champion hurdle winner by now. Honeysuckle probably would have never won one if with mullins.
 
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I feel like most of the recent changes have been due to Willie having so many good horses

The national hunt chase was changed because he kept running his 2nd best staying novice in it. A horse that would be in the BANC if at any other yard.

The handicap hurdles because he runs horses like state man who would be in the supreme if with anyone else.

The mares will surely be changed to a grade 2 because he refuses to run lossie in the champion

We are gonna end up with 79 handicaps the way its going as they try to force willie not to go for the "winnable" option

Fact to file and Gaelic should both be in the gold cup. Its a more prestigious race that they both have a good chance of winning.

Lossie should be in the champion she would probably go off fav with the uncertainty over BDA at the track.

Anyway. Rant over.
 
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FinalFurlong91 said:
I feel like most of the recent changes have been due to Willie having so many good horses

The national hunt chase was changed because he kept running his 2nd best staying novice in it. A horse that would be in the BANC if at any other yard.

The handicap hurdles because he runs horses like state man who would be in the supreme if with anyone else.

The mares will surely be changed to a grade 2 because he refuses to run lossie in the champion

We are gonna end up with 79 handicaps the way its going as they try to force willie not to go for the "winnable" option

Fact to file and Gaelic should both be in the gold cup. Its a more prestigious race that they both have a good chance of winning.

Lossie should be in the champion she would probably go off fav with the uncertainty over BDA at the track.

Anyway. Rant over.
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Forgive my pedantry because I’m absolutely sure there’s nothing you’ve written that would require anyone to feel a need to defend Willie. Willie here is simply an adjective for ‘any one trainer’. Your post is an excellent one, combine your post with RR’s honeysuckle analogy which has really resonated too and in a nutshell you’ve described one of the main reasons why I found other things to do with my precious time.
 
Rooster Booster said:
Forgive my pedantry because I’m absolutely sure there’s nothing you’ve written that would require anyone to feel a need to defend Willie. Willie here is simply an adjective for ‘any one trainer’. Your post is an excellent one, combine your post with RR’s honeysuckle analogy which has really resonated too and in a nutshell you’ve described one of the main reasons why I found other things to do with my precious time.
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Forgive my pedantry also but... The first part of this post contradicts the second, no?
 
Rooster Booster said:
How
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I've reread it and think I know what you mean now... The suggestion is that if Henry has the same ammunition as Willie then he's have never needed to run Honeysuckle outside of Mares company? Interesting, although I remain unconvinced.
 
Its nothing personal towards mullins though. If you gave any trainer the amount of horses he has it would make sense for them to split them up to win every race available.

Its the owners causing it by all flocking to mullins. As brilliant of a trainer as he is, he's not on a different planet to the rest. If you gave henry all the best horses mullins has had, I dont think he would have gotten less out of any of them, and yet he has nowhere near the ammo. Its understandable for owners to just pick out the most successful at the moment and go with him, but its a big factor in these top class horses going to micky mouse races.l

If the owner of spindleberry has any sense, she's another who should be with henry or gordon etc for the start of next season. She might not be good enough for a gold cup, but he deserves a fair go at finding out if its what he wants, rather than being dictated to and quite possibly the victim of underhand tactics at the drf.
 
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Benjy23 said:
I've reread it and think I know what you mean now... The suggestion is that if Henry has the same ammunition as Willie then he's have never needed to run Honeysuckle outside of Mares company? Interesting, although I remain unconvinced.
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I’m still a little confused.

Rather than ask for further clarification I’ll just try and anticipate and provide more context . I don’t blame Willie at all for his strategy of sending horses to the easiest available target. I get it, he is doing nothing wrong and he is simply taking advantage of available opportunities. The fact that he has so many of the best horses coupled with this preference has however had an impact on my enjoyment of the festival and the level of anticipation I have felt in the months leading up to the next festival.

I fully acknowledge he has absolutely no obligation to put what could be seen by some as the overall interests of the sport or the competitiveness of races at the festival ahead of his own or his owners interests.

I simply found that the honeysuckle example that RR cited resonated quite strongly with me. I can’t say for sure whether she would or she wouldn’t have run in the CH if Willie had trained her but the fact that it’s up for debate (and you could replace Willie here with a n other who had a very high number of top horses) and the fact that year after year we have seen the dominant trainer in our sport split his talent to prioritise the number of races won over the competitiveness of races has affected my personal enjoyment of and enthusiasm for the festival. He is not to blame , it’s just not working for me personally.
 
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…..Heart Wood;

We have two entries so I hate committing fully but I’d say we’re like 85 per cent for the Ryanair. I think we’ll go there and ride him a fraction more positive by the sounds of wat Darragh (O’Keefe, jockey) was saying.

“He’s hitting that age now so I’d say he’s definitely improved a little bit. I would hope he should run well.”
 
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Just listening to Mullins running through some of his Cheltenham team on Nick Luck’s podcast today. As probably most on here have suggested, it sounded very much like Gaelic Warrior’s target depends on where JP decides Fact to File will go.

Going off the way he spoke, i’d say it’s strong odds on at least one of the two will be here.
 
Luke95 said:
Just listening to Mullins running through some of his Cheltenham team on Nick Luck’s podcast today. As probably most on here have suggested, it sounded very much like Gaelic Warrior’s target depends on where JP decides Fact to File will go.

Going off the way he spoke, i’d say it’s strong odds on at least one of the two will be here.
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The market has responded today as well
 
Well it’s a shame for the Gold Cup, but if GW goes here at least my Gold Cup wagers will have more chance .
Every cloud and all that.
 
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Sounds like RR has two masters now. Just days ago I swear he said something like I just want to win a gold cup whether it’s here Cheltenham ascot or even Australia . You owned Vautour and now you own Gaelic Warrior ….note to self …I can’t win a gold cup unless my horses run in one.
 
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Rooster Booster said:
Sounds like RR has two masters now. Just days ago I swear he said something like I just want to win a gold cup whether it’s here Cheltenham ascot or even Australia . You owned Vautour and now you own Gaelic Warrior ….note to self …I can’t win a gold cup unless my horses run in one.
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He did indeed say that, before the Irish GC
Put your foot down Rich
 

IMPAIRE ET PASSE​

8 b g Diamond Boy – Brune Ecossaise

A 157-rated chaser, he won three of his five starts in novice chases last season, including the Faugheen Novice Chase at Limerick’s Christmas meeting.

“He is in the Red Mills Chase at Gowran this weekend. He is one I feel could skip Cheltenham and maybe go to Aintree instead.”

Really confused by Willie being so strong against running an impressive 1/1 festival winner at Cheltenham ever again. Appreciate he’d likely at least be second string in a Ryanair this year, but even so. Sounds like they’ve purposefully left him off all season to start this late, too.
 
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Carnage at Taunton said:
He did indeed say that, before the Irish GC
Put your foot down Rich
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So, you spend, what, 200k? on a 3yo, send him to the top trainer who has sourced him and, after 5 years (or about 150k outlay) he's won you 750k in prize-money. You then turn round to said top trainer and tell him that you know better than him so he should run in a particular race. Of course you do.

There will be no decision until the last minute and why would there be?
 
….Mullins re GW;

‘He had a hard race in the King George and again at Leopardstown in the Irish Gold Cup. I thought the way that he ran in Leopardstown was an ideal run for a Ryanair Chase. He is a horse that has a very good record at Cheltenham.’
 
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