Fans of Willie Mullins (and there must be millions of them by now) pretty much cleaned up over the weekend as he tightened his grip on pretty much all the Championship races over the weekend sending alarm bells ringing with both bookmakers and other yards such is his undoubted superiority in the National Hunt game at present. In all honestly, what we saw over the weekend was anything but unexpected, as the odds showed, but those punters still looking to pick holes (in the hope of finding alternatives) were left clutching at straws as they all impressed, one after the other.
First up on Saturday afternoon and Vroum Vroum Mag easily won the Mares’ Hurdle over close to three miles, after which connections left the waters muddied with the World Hurdle as an option – or the Mares’ Hurdle if stable companion Annie Power doesn’t make it on the day or fails to be ready in time for a prep race. She is 6/1 for the World and 13/2 for the Mares’ but if you can find those odds with a bookie offering “Non runner No bet” terms, she must be sorely tempting at those prices.
Later on the same Ascot card Un De Sceaux put up the best performance in my view, easily beating 2014 Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Sire De Grugy by five lengths without any obvious jumping errors, and he is now as short as 4/6 in places for the 2016 renewal in what looks more and more like a straight match with Sire De Grugy who will need to be back to his very best to make the Irish challenger breaks in to a sweat.
On Sunday afternoon at Leopardstown the yard unleashed two more of their biggest guns starting with Arkle Trophy favourite Douvan who had little more than an exercise canter to hack up from massively inferior opponents. Bookmakers have, as always, over reacted and cut his price still further to a rather miserly 4/7 in general, though as he clocked a time 11.90 seconds slower than standard, I am loathe to understand what he did to deserve the price cut.
Lastly, Champion Hurdler Faugheen was as awesome as he has ever been when taking the Irish Champion Hurdle by an easy fifteen lengths from stable companion Arctic Fire which is even better than expected when you compare their official ratings. Being picky, he did make an error at the last, and not for the first time either, but in all honesty he is rapidly running out of any serious challengers at Cheltenham barring a fall, and even the 4/7 on offer with one bookmaker could well prove to be exceptional value come the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday March the 15th.