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Form is temporary, Class is permanent for Mullins and Walsh at Cheltenham

You have to smile at the Sporting Gods sometimes, as they can be a mischievous bunch altogether.  Th...
TodayFM
TodayFM

8:03 PM - 16 Mar 2017



Form is temporary, Class is pe...

Sport

Form is temporary, Class is permanent for Mullins and Walsh at Cheltenham

TodayFM
TodayFM

8:03 PM - 16 Mar 2017



You have to smile at the Sporting Gods sometimes, as they can be a mischievous bunch altogether. 

They may not publicly admit it, but I would hazard a guess that Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh were up the walls last night at Miss Missfortune that became an unwelcome friend for the first two days of Cheltenham 2017. All the months of preparation and 'Douvan' injures himself in the Champion Chase, the day is barren and Gordon Elliott is toasting a fifth winner. 

However, in this instant world we need to remind ourselves as we overload our brains with information between Tweets that Mullins and Walsh have not dominated an English Racing Festival with now over 100 Cheltenham wins between them by being born yesterday. They analysed, regrouped and sent out a 179/1 four timer on Thursday, courtesy of 'Yorkhill', 'Un De Sceaux', Stayers Hurdle winner 'Nichols Canyon' and 'Let's Dance'. 

'Nichols Canyon' was a classic piece of Mullins training, re routing a horse which had beaten Faugheen over 2 miles, but who is also an unusual and inconsistent character to a 3 mile Championship race in which he delivered in a large part to a Walsh ride that was presented with Rolex timing at the winning post.

The vibes are strong that the pair can deliver the Gold Cup with 'Djakadam' on Friday and nobody would begrudge Willie Mullins his first win in the race, 31 years after his father Paddy won it with 'Dawn Run'. 

The other Thursday angle was the domination of Irish trained horses, as 'Presenting Percy' and 'Road to Respect' propelled trainers Patrick Kelly and Noel Meade into the winner's enclosure. 

Ireland have 14 wins to England's 7. That is just bewildering to someone who was reared on stories of disappointments illuminated by shining lights such as 'Arkle', 'Dawn Run' and 'Istabraq'. I wonder how the English racing elite feel. This is now becoming a strong trend in recent years and they must be experiencing some discomfort that Ireland are mirroring Tony Jacklin's European Ryder Cup team on their turf.

I will be on with Muireann O'Connell at 10.30am on St Patrick's Day for the final Charity Bets of the week with thanks to Betfair. 

I will post my opinions on the Gold Cup here at noon tomorrow.

We have €3153.75 in the Charity Bank from a starting point of €1500 following a second and two third placed finishes on Thursday. 

Enjoy the final day folks!



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