'He might be the one to try it with' - audacious Dawn Run double on Willie Mullins' mind for the brilliant Ballyburn

Dawn Run remains the only horse in the history of the sport to have won the Champion Hurdle and the Gold Cup, but Willie Mullins thinks he might have finally found one capable of emulating the legendary mare in the shape of last week's glorious Gallagher Novices' Hurdle winner Ballyburn. 

The audacious double has rarely been tried, or even thought about by trainers, but Ballyburn is a unique individual who could have the necessary speed and stamina to have a crack at it according to the man who knows him best of all. 

Dawn Run won the Champion Hurdle in 1984 and followed up in the Gold Cup two years later for Willie's father Paddy, and connections of Ballyburn will have a big decision to make this summer about whether to stick around over hurdles for another season or switch to fences. 

By the sound of things, Mullins is keen to have a crack at the 2025 Champion Hurdle and he feels that the first leg of the famous Dawn Run double might be the trickiest to achieve as he is convinced Ballyburn is every inch a chaser. 

Speaking about the prospect of trying to follow in the hallowed hoofprints of Dawn Run with Ballyburn, Mullins said: "You have to look for the right horse who could do it, and it struck me that he would fit the bill in my book. He might be the right horse to try and do it with.

"If he happens to be lucky enough to win a Champion Hurdle, and that will be tough, he could do it because he looks like a real chasing model. He's a horse who you could attempt it with."

The trainer admitted going for a Champion Hurdle never even entered his mind until he saw Ballyburn breeze to victory in the opener at the festival last Wednesday, but he might have a rethink now. 

Mullins said: "Everyone would have to be on board with that idea [of going down the Dawn Run route] and I would have to discuss it with his owners. People have to be on board with it, and going in the same direction, but if he turned out to be a real Champion Hurdle horse he could fit the bill. 

"I never dreamt he could be a Champion Hurdle horse until I saw what he could do the other day, but he looks more of a chaser than a hurdler. He might just be the horse to try it with."

You can get 10-1 with a few firms about Ballyburn ticking off the first leg of that double in 2025 by winning the Champion Hurdle. Stablemates Lossiemouth and State Man are shorter than him in that market, which is headed by last week's absentee Constitution Hill. 

Ballyburn may not be favourite for the Champion Hurdle next season, but he does top the ante-post markets for the Arkle, the Turners and the Brown Advisory so it will be fascinating to see what path he goes down. He has received a Racing Post Rating of 168 for his wide-margin Gallagher Novices' Hurdle win, 8lb higher than what State Man earned for his Champion Hurdle success. 

Gaelic Warrior: a particularly satisfying winner for Mullins at CheltenhamCredit: Alan Crowhurst

It was another phenomenal festival for Mullins, whose nine-winner haul saw him become the first trainer to reach a century of festival winners. Of those nine winners, few gave him more satisfaction than runaway Arkle winner Gaelic Warrior whose Dublin Racing Festival blowout is a distant memory now. 

Mulllins said: "I suppose Gaelic Warrior was up there with the most satisfying result of the week for me, definitely. We had to change a lot of things with him. We had to come back from two and a half miles, without ever running over two miles with him over fences, and that isn't easy. It was completely new territory for him in every sense and it just all worked out to perfection so, yes, that was very satisfying."

One of the few disappointments of the week for the record-breaking trainer was the performance of El Fabiolo in last Wednesday's Champion Chase. The 2-9 favourite was pulled up after the fifth fence following an unusually erratic display of jumping in the early stages of the race. 

Aintree is already off the agenda for the 2023 Arkle winner, and it could be a race against time to get him fit for the Punchestown festival at the end of April. 

The champion trainer said of El Fabiolo: "He was sore after the race and he's still sore, so we're sending him for tests. He's still not right and we're going to send him for an MOT to see what's wrong. We'll find out what we need to do to get him back. 

El Fabiolo and Paul Townend after pulling up in the Champion ChaseCredit: Edward Whitaker

"I would say at this stage if we do manage to get him back this season, Punchestown would be a more realistic target for him rather than Aintree."

El Fabiolo was the exception rather than the norm, though, as Mullins reported almost a clean bill of health for the huge team he sent to Cheltenham last week. He puts that down to ground conditions. 

Mullins said: "We're very happy with how the whole team has come back. We have maybe four or five different horses who need to have MOTs done, just to check why they were disappointing, and they might have been feeling something. There are a small few who disappointed us over there and came back a little sore but, in general, the horses have come back in really good shape. 

"That just shows you how much of a difference ground makes to these horses. Having all that rain and having the ground going softer means horses are coming home sounder. It is so important in jump racing to have soft in the ground. It's never been more important and you can see that with the way our horses have come back from the festival."

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