Can last season's Kim Muir winner Angels Dawn keep Willie Mullins at bay in his bid for a tenth Thyestes Chase?

Not many handicaps boast a roll of honour quite like the Goffs Thyestes Chase. Two of the greatest steeplechasers of all time won the race just two years apart when Tom Dreaper saddled Arkle (1964) and Flyingbolt (1966) to victory, while Dreaper also sent Fort Leney out to land the spoils in the interim, three years before he claimed the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

More recently, the race has maintained its habit of throwing up elite chasers with Grand National winners Hedgehunter (2004) and Numbersixvalverde (2005) having taken the race on their way to Aintree glory, while On His Own (2012 and 2014) and Djakadam (2015) muscled their way to victory in the 3m1f handicap before narrowly missing out on emulating Arkle and Fort Leney by landing the Gold Cup.

With the exception of Numbersixvalverde, all of the more recent winners highlighted were trained just 14 kilometres away at Willie Mullins' yard in Closutton. Mullins landed the first of nine wins at the turn of the millennium when Micko's Dream came home two lengths to the good and Carefully Selected's narrow triumph last season ensured the trainer took home the prize for the fifth time in the last decade.

On the 70th anniversary of the Thyestes, Mullins has three chances of reaching win number ten in the €100,000 contest, with Glengouly the pick of stable jockey Paul Townend.

The eight-year-old ran to a smart level when defeating Telmesomethinggirl and Brides Hill on his chase debut at Thurles in December 2022 before his season began to unravel when he tackled Graded company.

He returned this campaign with an excellent runner-up effort in the Tim Duggan at Limerick last month but has been given a 4lb rise for that effort, while the combination of a step up in trip and testing ground is a big question mark.

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Bronn is capable of smart form but hasn't fired in two starts this campaign and will need first-time cheekpieces to spark him up.

Ontheropes will be the outsider of the Mullins team but isn't one to dismiss out of hand. The ten-year-old has always shaped like a dour stayer and was fifth in this race in 2022 off 6lb higher before an extended spell on the sidelines. Provided he can come on for his return at Leopardstown last month, he could pick up some pieces late on.

The Sam Curling-trained Angels Dawn is the early favourite. Last season's Kim Muir winner returns to fences after plying her trade over hurdles this campaign.

The bare form of those two runs doesn't look too promising as the nine-year-old hasn't landed much of a blow, finishing well held at Clonmel and Navan. However, she shaped quite well both days in extremely testing conditions.

The Irish National proved too much of a stamina test on her final start last season but this trip should prove ideal. She is a strong traveller who could really enjoy this test if establishing a rhythm in the early stages and a mark of 138 could still be within her compass.

Gordon Elliott could field as many as seven runners as he goes in search of a third win in the race and last year's runner-up Dunboyne looks particularly interesting under Jack Kennedy.

The nine-year-old finished more than 13 lengths behind Angels Dawn in the Kim Muir but has plausible claims of reversing that form on 10lb better terms, especially considering he was a narrow runner-up behind Carefully Selected in last year's edition of this race.

Kennedy's mount is 5lb higher this campaign and started back in encouraging fashion when fourth in the Troytown in November, while he is also a course winner having bolted up in a handicap chase here in 2022.

Martin Brassil was responsible for masterminding Numbersixvalverde's success 19 years ago before he went on to land the Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse and Grand National at Aintree, and the Kildare trainer has since landed it with Longhouse Poet who is back to reclaim his crown.

The ten-year-old has scored twice since his 2022 triumph, most recently over fences at Down Royal last March, and shaped better than the distance beaten suggests on both runs this season. However, a mark of 152 looks a tough ask.

Longhouse Poet: won the Thyestes in 2022Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Shantreusse shaped excellently when runner-up on his comeback at Navan last month for Henry de Bromhead when second in a Listed handicap over 2m4½f. The eight-year-old travelled with plenty of verve that day for a horse who will definitely appreciate this test given he was a Grade 3 winner over 3m on heavy ground as a novice hurdler. He looks a solid each-way play under Darragh O'Keeffe.

Stormy Judge has caught the eye the last twice in hurdle contests over inadequate trips and looks poised to run a big race for Pat Fahy, especially if this turns into a real test of stamina.

Any Second Now would be a popular winner for Ted Walsh and a mark of 148 may underestimate him, even at the age of 12, while the Barry Connell-trained Espanito Bello ran well when fifth last year and is capable of a big performance on his day.

What they say

Patrick Mullins, assistant trainer of Bronn, Glengouly and Ontheropes
Glengouly ran a really good race at Limerick on his return from a long lay-off. You'd probably prefer a slightly longer break between his races but he's come out of Limerick in good form. We think the step up in trip will help him. Bronn had a really good run in the Brown Advisory last year and second-season novices have a good profile in these kinds of races. He has plenty of weight but he's able to carry it so we're expecting a good run out of him. Ontheropes is the kind of horse who runs well in these races and was knocking on the door in staying handicap chases before his layoff. Stamina is his strong point.

Martin Brassil, trainer of Longhouse Poet
He has loads of weight and if he got a bit of prize-money we'd be happy. He won this race in 2022 and has been an unlucky horse at Aintree in recent seasons.

Barry Connell, trainer of Espanito Bello
I don't think he got out the right side of the bed the last day at Navan as he was off the bridle very early. We're putting a visor on him so we'll see if that works. He ran well in the race last year off a long break and he's off a mark where he definitely could win a race like this. If it was at Naas I'd be very confident!

Ted Walsh, trainer of Any Second Now
I'd have liked to have seen more from him at Navan to say he'd have a chance but he's in good form. He should run well and I'll be delighted if he was in the money.

Gordon Elliott, trainer of Gevrey, Diol Ker, Fakir D'Alene, Frontal Assault, Dunboyne and Royal Thief
Jack [Kennedy] has picked Dunboyne and you can understand why. He was just touched off in the race last year and we've had this year's race in mind for him for quite a while. I thought he ran really well in the Troytown and he seems to be in great form. I was fancying Fakir D'Alene to run a big race in the Paddy Power but we never got to find out as he was brought down early. He must have a decent each-way chance with a bit more luck. Gevrey had his big day in the Munster National and if he got back to that sort of form he would come into the reckoning. He loves these big-field handicaps. Frontal Assault can never be underestimated in these races, but he needs to bounce back to his best. Diol Ker didn't run too badly in the Paddy Power and is not out of it either, but Royal Thief would appear to have plenty on his plate.

Gordon Elliott: runs six in the Thyestes Handicap ChaseCredit: Patrick McCann

Henry de Bromhead, trainer of Ain't That A Shame and Shantreusse
We were delighted with Shantreusse at Navan and he seems back to form. We're hoping the step up in trip will suit him. Ain't That A Shame has been a bit disappointing on his last couple of runs but he seems in good form now and everyone is happy with him. Hopefully he's coming back to himself.

Colm Murphy, trainer of Macs Charm
He goes well around this track and we're hoping for a nice run. He should get deep ground which would definitely be in his favour. It probably wasn't soft enough for him at Leopardstown the last day.

Sam Curling, trainer of Angels Dawn
We've been happy with her two runs over hurdles. Her first run at Clonmel was good and the ground was very tough at Navan, but she still ran well to a point. She's a lot better over fences. She comes into her own in the spring, so you'd be hoping she would start to improve from here on. She's had seven runs over fences and you'd be hoping there would be more to come.

Pat Fahy, trainer of Stormy Judge
He's put in two lovely runs over hurdles at Fairyhouse and Leopardstown on his last two starts – we were very happy with him. He seems very well in himself and schooled over fences well the other day. He has a brother who wanted good ground but the softer the better for him.

John Flavin, trainer of Street Value
His last two runs have been very good. We ran him at Cork as a bit of a prep race for this and he ran a cracker off topweight over a trip shorter than ideal. That should leave him spot but he'll have to be on his A-game in a race as competitive as this. He has ran well at Gowran before and the more rain we get the better for him.

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