Patrick Mullins: Facile Vega will need to be every bit as good as we hope he is

Patrick Mullins believes Facile Vega, son of the legendary racemare Quevega, will need to be every bit as good as they think he is at Closutton to harden his reputation as a genuine Cheltenham contender with victory at Leopardstown on Saturday.

Facile Vega will face six previous winners in the Grade 2 Goffs Future Stars bumper (4.25) and Mullins, who gave the lowdown on the yard's best chances for the Dublin Racing Festival, expects a big performance.

The champion amateur said: "It's a very competitive race. The Big Doyen has been very impressive in winning both of his bumpers, Sandor Clegane won as he liked at Punchestown and Itswhatunitesus also won by daylight at Navan."

Patrick Mullins: 'He's three times the size of her [Quevega] and not as grumpy as she was'Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Facile Vega won by six lengths on his debut at the Leopardstown Christmas meeting and Mullins added: "He's going to need to be every bit as good as we hope he is in order to win. We've been very happy with him since Christmas. He took the race well and is in great form at home. I'm really looking forward to riding him.

"He's not at all like Quevega. He's three times the size of her and not as grumpy as she was. Hopefully he can fly the flag for her on Saturday."

Facile Vega is 4-5 with most firms to win on Saturday, while odds of 3-1 are available for the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham.

Dublin Racing Festival tips: why this horse can win at Leopardstown

Mullins looks to have another good opportunity in Sunday's Grade 2 Coolmore N.H. Sires Santiago Irish EBF Mares bumper (4.40) at Leopardstown aboard Pink In The Park. She is 6-5 favourite and the one he is expecting to ride.

He said: "We'll have to see how they scope on Friday morning but Pink In The Park is the standout on racecourse performances. But at home, there isn't much between two or three of them. Pink In The Park would look the one on what she's achieved on the track."

Since its inception, Willie Mullins has won 22 of the 60 races at the Dublin Racing Festival and Ireland's dominant trainer has a multitude of short-priced favourites this weekend.

While Patrick concedes the stable is unlikely to lower the colours of Honeysuckle in the Chanelle Pharma Irish Champion Hurdle, he revealed he would side with Asterion Forlonge in the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup on Saturday. He also hopes to see Chacun Pour Soi show his true colours in Sunday's Ladbrokes Dublin Chase (1.50).

Asterion Forlonge: Mullins runner goes for the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup on SaturdayCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Mullins said: "We don't have much to take on Honeysuckle with but the Gold Cup is different. The ground is going to be the unknown. There has been such a phenomenal amount of water put on the track and it'll be interesting to see how it rides.

"If it's dead ground, that would be a question mark for Kemboy, but I think Asterion Forlonge is very interesting. People say he needs to go right-handed but it's worth remembering that his only Grade 1 win came at Leopardstown."

He added: "We'd all like to see Chacun Pour Soi back to his best and we'd like to think he is. Greaneteen is going to be a serious challenger.

"The hype about Galopin Des Champs [ahead of Sunday's Ladbrokes Novice Chase] has been phenomenal and hopefully it's right. His beginners' chase performance was jaw-droppingly good but it was only a beginners' chase, so we'll be crossing our fingers he can live up to his reputation.

"There's a lot of depth in Sir Gerhard's race [Sunday's Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle] but we'd like to think he'll have the measure of his rivals."

Read more on the Dublin Racing Festival:

What should punters expect of the ground at the Dublin Racing Festival?

Dublin Racing Festival: the five key races you don't want to miss

'We wouldn't swap him' – Kemboy camp bullish for Irish Gold Cup defence (Members' Club)

Upping The Ante star Gavin Lynch joins the Racing Post roster for a weekly Saturday column throughout the jumps season. He'll offer a guide to the weekend action, highlight the horses and races to watch and share his punting wisdom. Read it every Saturday in the Racing Post or online from 4pm every Friday, exclusively for Members' Club subscribers. Sign up to Members' Club here for more top jumps season insight.