Can course specialist French Dynamite deny five-strong Willie Mullins contingent in Thurles Listed event?

Willie Mullins saddles five formidable contenders in the Listed 2m6f chase with stable jockey Paul Townend electing to partner Haut En Couleurs.

The six-year-old was fifth in the Plate and fourth in the Topham when carrying top weight at both Cheltenham and Aintree's spring festivals before ending his season with an eighth-placed finish in May's French Champion Hurdle. Haut En Couleurs was in command when falling at the last in the Grade 2 Horse & Jockey Hotel Chase in January on his only previous visit to Thurles. Had he stayed on his feet, it would have been a high-class piece of form given he had Fakir D'Oudairies in trouble at the time.

It will be interesting to see how the Mouse Morris-trained French Dynamite fares against the Mullins battalion. He has won four times from six starts at this track including at Grade 3 level in March 2022. He won on his reappearance last season when taking a conditions hurdle at this venue and it looks like he will get his preferred decent ground.

Janidil is the only one of the Closutton brigade not returning from a break after he had the unenviable task of taking on Allaho at Clonmel three weeks ago. The nine-year-old shaped as if he would come on for the run that day when beaten nine lengths and has some smart form to his name.

He defeated Haut En Couleurs and Capodanno on his reappearance in last season's Red Mills Chase and he was going to add another Grade 2 victory to his haul until he fell at the last at Fairyhouse in April. He has to concede 10lb to his main market rivals but he seems the one to beat nonetheless.

Capodanno, James Du Berlais and Classic Getaway all have considerable ability but have had interrupted campaigns in recent seasons. Capodanno had just two starts last term and wasn't beaten far when conceding 9lb to Janidil and Haut En Couleurs at Gowran Park in February. He has a chance on these terms.

Gordon Elliott relies on Farouk D'Alene, who achieved a high level of form as a novice chaser in the 2021-22 season. He was only narrowly denied a Grade 1 success by Master McShee at Limerick and was in the process of running a fine race when coming down at the penultimate fence in last year's Brown Advisory Novices' Chase. He fell at the first in the Troytown after a lengthy layoff so he likely still needs the run.

Going latest

The ground at Thurles is yielding, good to yielding in places on the chase course and yielding on the hurdles course. It is turning progressively colder and the situation is being monitored.

What they say

Patrick Mullins, assistant to Willie Mullins, trainer of Janidil, Classic Getaway, James Du Berlais, Capodanno and Haut En Couleurs
It looked like Haut En Couleurs was going to put in his best performance last year at this track when he came down at the last in a Grade 2. He's well treated at the weights so it looks an ideal race for him. Janidil should come on a lot for his run at Clonmel which was a good effort. The conditions of the race make life hard for him given the weight he has to concede. Capodanno had a very stop-start season. He's a Grade 1 winner as a novice and we're hoping we can get a clear run this season. Hopefully he can fulfill his potential. James Du Berlais ran well in Grade 1 company last season. This is a drop in class and he often runs well fresh. Classic Getaway hasn't much experience but he's a very good jumper. It's a good race to get his season started and we can build from here.

Mouse Morris, trainer of French Dynamite
Decent ground is important to him and he enjoys this track so we're hoping he can run a big race.

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