'He shows me nothing at home' - Mullins perplexed as The Nice Guy comes first

Friday: Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle, Cheltenham

The Nice Guy doesn't always finish last. In fact, this particular one has a habit of finishing first and he made it four wins out of four with an emphatic Albert Bartlett victory to complete a quickfire hat-trick for Willie Mullins in the first three races.

To say Mullins was hopeful beforehand would be to exaggerate. It seems he expected very little.

"I think he was the outsider of ours as he shows me nothing at home," said the perplexed winning trainer afterwards.

"He is very backward in his work on our gallop. We were more than surprised when he won his first race, we were very surprised when he won his second race and then we put him over hurdles and we were completely surprised.

"Malcolm [Denmark] wanted a Cheltenham runner so we entered him, but I don't think anyone in the yard would have thought he would have been one of our Cheltenham winners. He seems to be a different horse on the racetrack."

He certainly is. The Nice Guy turns into the tough guy when he gets to the racetrack and he unleashed a power-packed finish to get the better of his better fancied stablemate, Minella Cocooner. There was a fleeting moment when it looked as though it would be tight, then he was gone and there were five lengths between the pair at the line.

There was, unfortunately, a sad postscript to the race. Ginto, the 5-2 second favourite, suffered a fatal injury after turning for home. He was about to throw down his challenge and had every chance when he broke down. it was a bitter blow for owners Noel and Valerie Moran and Gordon Elliott, who had hoped he would develop into a Gold Cup horse.

Hillcrest, who was pulled up and never travelled with fluency, could turn up in a Gold Cup some day, and he is certainly built for fences, but this test came a little too early in his education. There will be other days for him, of that there is little doubt.

This particular day was about The Nice Guy, though, and Mullins was keen to heap praise upon his young 23-year-old rider Sean O'Keeffe. He said: "What a ride from Sean. He rode Galopin Des Champs last year for me. He's a very cool and up-and-coming rider."

It was put to Mullins that he is showing similar sort of promise as Paul Townend did at his age. He said: "I think he is someone who is going to come through the ranks and it is nice to have people coming through but Paul is not going anywhere for a while yet!

"Things didn't go to plan for him here. I said to him to be on the first six or eight and he just couldn't go the pace so he dropped him back in and elected to creep his way round. That's the good thing about riders like that – they have the confidence to change. He didn't rush him up because he couldn't go fast enough. I like a jockey with that sort of confidence."

Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle: full result and race replay

O'Keeffe could not stop smiling afterwards, hardly surprising given it was his first Grade 1 winner.

"To do it here as well is unreal," he beamed. "Since the win here last year [on Galopin Des Champs], Willie has put a lot of faith in me and given me loads of chances, and for all the owners to let me ride the horses as well – it's been a big boost. It's great to come here and get a big winner as well.

"You have to take confidence from the fact Willie is trusting you to ride them, and to believe in yourself; when you are riding those good horses it makes it much easier."

The job was not as easy as O'Keeffe made it look. That is always the sign of a top jockey. The future is very bright indeed for both him and The Nice Guy.

Read more Cheltenham reports:

Rachael Blackmore delivers sublime Cheltenham Gold Cup ride on A Plus Tard

Billaway comes from the clouds to land Hunters as Mullins bandwagon rolls on

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