Willie Mullins is not to be underestimated in British title race - three things we learned last week

Here are three key takeaways from across the week . . .

In-form Hughes has live chance of breakthrough Group victory

You’d struggle to find a trainer who has made a better start to the year than Richard Hughes, who is operating at a 31 per cent strike-rate having sent out 16 winners from 52 runners.

He’s in serious form too, with half of those victories recorded in the last two weeks (38 per cent strike-rate), but none would have given him more enjoyment than Saturday’s comfortable Chelmsford winner Bracken’s Laugh, who could be the best chance of Group-race success Hughes has had.

Richard Hughes and Finley Marsh flank Bracken's Laugh after their win

He won a traditionally strong Newbury two-year-old race on his debut, a mile event that has been won in recent years by the likes of Yibir, and he was far from disgraced in fifth when thrown into the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud on his second start.

His Chelmsford win looks like a race worth following, with runner-up Orne and third Capulet having shown strong form last year, and his proven ability on soft ground should make him a serious contender for the Dee Stakes, while Group races will be on the agenda in the summer.

Kimngrace gave Hughes a first Listed success last year, but a Group victory has eluded him, with Brentford Hope, placed three times in that company, coming closest. In Bracken’s Laugh, Hughes can hope that breakthrough success is just around the corner.
Harry Wilson

Punters swaying towards mud-loving National runners

The wet weather has played havoc with the fixture list and the prospect of a heavy-ground Grand National is increasing.

Aintree officials are expecting more downpours at the start of the week, with an unsettled forecast in the days leading up to the big one on Saturday.

Even if the favourable end of the forecast arrives, conditions look sure to be testing, with the ground on the National course on Sunday soft, heavy in places, which could turn the complexion of the race upside down.

The marathon distance is a big enough challenge without the surface becoming a bog, and punters have been turning their attentions towards mudlovers.

Nassalam: thrives in heavy groundCredit: Edward Whitaker

Welsh National winner Nassalam thrived in the torrid conditions at Chepstow and has shortened to 20-1, having been as big as 40-1 at the beginning of the month.

Paddy Power on Sunday reported Nassalam to be their best-backed ante-post National horse, and Mr Incredible, runner-up on heavy ground in the Midlands National, is another to have attracted support

There were only 12 finishers the last time the National was run on heavy ground in 2018, the smallest total in the last 17 years. With the field reduced to 34 runners, could that be lower this year?
Sam Hendry

Willie Mullins signals British trainers’ championship intentions

Anyone questioning how seriously Willie Mullins is taking this season’s British trainers’ championship has been provided with the answer.

Despite having had just five runners at Ayr, when entries were revealed for the Scottish Grand National Mullins was responsible for ten of the 71 entries, just one shy of the combined tally for his main title challengers Paul Nicholls and Dan Skelton.

For Sandown’s bet365 Gold Cup, a race that could have a major bearing on the destination of the championship, Mullins has made 13 entries, including Irish Grand National sixth and seventh We’llhavewan and Nick Rockett.

How Mullins fares at Aintree will have a big say on how many of these horses make the journey, or are saved for races closer to home.

Mullins had just one winner, Zenta, from 21 runners at last year’s Grand National meeting, and this year's entries suggest he is taking a more targeted approach.

On Thursday, Mullins has a single figure-priced entry in five of the seven races, and in Saturday’s £1 million Randox Grand National he has nine entries, including three of the top seven horses in the betting. 

Mullins’s trainers’ title odds have been cut to 100-30 (from 5-1) by Coral in recent days and, with just over £650,000 separating him and leader Dan Skelton, a strong Aintree would see those odds tumble further.
Joe Eccles

Read more . . .

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