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The 42
02-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Willie Mullins' Final Demand stamps class in Punchestown Champion Hurdle
WILLIE MULLINS' FINAL Demand stamped his class on the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown with an all-the-way success. A winner at the Dublin Racing Festival, he was sent off favourite for the Turners Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham but could only finish third behind The New Lion and The Yellow Clay. He faced Gordon Elliott's 5-4 favourite The Yellow Clay once again, but he took a heavy fall at the last when well held in third. In truth the race was over by the second-last as Paul Townend continued to wind up the pace in the final half-mile, with the 7-4 shot drawing further and further clear. 'It was an awesome performance over that trip,' said Mullins. 'Paul felt he didn't go fast enough in Cheltenham and he said to Caroline (Tisdall, owner) 'today I'm going to show him off'. 'I saw him jumping the first and second and I wasn't happy until he jumped the third that he was jumping well. Advertisement 'Then he was electric over a few of his hurdles, for a big chaser to jump the way he did – he was getting lengths at his hurdles when it mattered. 'I thought he was going to tire around the fifth-last or fourth-last after the pace, but then he'd go down to the hurdle and just take a length out of a horse behind him. 'If you can jump fences like that he's one to look forward to.' When asked if he had schooled over fences, Mullins added: 'No, not at home. There will be time enough next autumn. He won his point-to-point so he's well able to jump. 'He's not a horse you'd want to stand on your foot! He's really one to look forward to.' Dinoblue followed up her Cheltenham success in even easier fashion in the Hanlon Concrete Irish EBF Glencarraig Lady Francis Flood Mares Chase. Only four went to post for the Grade Two event and it was dominated by the two Mullins stablemates, Dinoblue (4-7 favourite) and Allegorie De Vassy. Allegorie De Vassy was a late faller at Cheltenham after being passed by Dinoblue and the time before had been beaten a neck by the same rival in the Opera Hat Chase. This time Townend laid it all out from early on and took a sizeable early lead, but Mark Walsh gradually reeled her in on Dinoblue and went away to win by 35 lengths. Mullins later confirmed the runner-up had run her last race. 'She was very good today. I was hoping that Allegorie might get her own back on her after Cheltenham, but it wasn't going to be that way today,' said Mullins. 'Allegorie is in foal to Jukebox Jury so she's retired now. 'Dinoblue looks to be getting better and better and hopefully we have her for next season. I don't see her going to stud for a while yet.' Frank Berry said, winning owner JP McManus' racing manager, said: 'You could set your clock by her every day. 'She jumped great and she's just a pleasure to have around. She never lets you down. 'I'd say it's her best year and she's maybe better than ever. 'She'll have another season. She'll stick to the mares' races. There is a good programme for them and it suits her well.'
Irish Independent
02-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Punchestown Day 4: State Man rules supreme as Constitution Hill disappoints in Champion Hurdle showdown
The Grade One contest staged a mouthwatering rematch between the Willie Mullins and Nicky Henderson-trained superstars, who both fell in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham in March, with the presence of Jeremy Scott's eventual Champion Hurdle heroine Golden Ace adding further spice. Despite suffering a second successive fall in the Aintree Hurdle, Constitution Hill was a heavily-supported 8-13 favourite to get back on the winning trail on his first trip to Ireland, but he was a spent force from before the home turned and weakened rapidly out of contention. In contrast, State Man (9-4) - who looked to have a second Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham at his mercy when crashing out at the final obstacle at Prestbury Park in mid-March - continued to pour it on in front under Paul Townend and came home with four and three-quarter lengths in hand over Golden Ace. Willie Mullins' Final Demand stamped his class on the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle with an all-the-way success. A winner at the Dublin Racing Festival, he was sent off favourite for the Turners Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham but could only finish third behind The New Lion and The Yellow Clay. He faced Gordon Elliott's 5-4 favourite The Yellow Clay once again, but he took a heavy fall at the last when well held in third. In truth the race was over by the second-last as Paul Townend continued to wind up the pace in the final half-mile, with the 7-4 shot drawing further and further clear. 'It was an awesome performance over that trip,' said Mullins. 'Paul felt he didn't go fast enough in Cheltenham and he said to Caroline (Tisdall, owner) 'today I'm going to show him off'. 'I saw him jumping the first and second and I wasn't happy until he jumped the third that he was jumping well. ADVERTISEMENT 'Then he was electric over a few of his hurdles, for a big chaser to jump the way he did – he was getting lengths at his hurdles when it mattered. 'I thought he was going to tire around the fifth-last or fourth-last after the pace, but then he'd go down to the hurdle and just take a length out of a horse behind him. 'If you can jump fences like that he's one to look forward to.' When asked if he had schooled over fences, Mullins added: 'No, not at home. There will be time enough next autumn. He won his point-to-point so he's well able to jump. 'He's not a horse you'd want to stand on your foot! He's really one to look forward to.' Dinoblue followed up her Cheltenham success in even easier fashion in the Hanlon Concrete Irish EBF Glencarraig Lady Francis Flood Mares Chase. Only four went to post for the Grade Two event and it was dominated by the two Mullins stablemates, Dinoblue (4-7 favourite) and Allegorie De Vassy. Allegorie De Vassy was a late faller at Cheltenham after being passed by Dinoblue and the time before had been beaten a neck by the same rival in the Opera Hat Chase. This time Townend laid it all out from early on and took a sizeable early lead, but Mark Walsh gradually reeled her in on Dinoblue and went away to win by 35 lengths. Mullins later confirmed the runner-up had run her last race. 'She was very good today. I was hoping that Allegorie might get her own back on her after Cheltenham, but it wasn't going to be that way today,' said Mullins. 'Allegorie is in foal to Jukebox Jury so she's retired now. 'Dinoblue looks to be getting better and better and hopefully we have her for next season. I don't see her going to stud for a while yet.' Frank Berry said, winning owner JP McManus' racing manager, said: 'You could set your clock by her every day. 'She jumped great and she's just a pleasure to have around. She never lets you down. 'I'd say it's her best year and she's maybe better than ever. 'She'll have another season. She'll stick to the mares' races. There is a good programme for them and it suits her well.'
RTÉ News
02-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Punchestown round-up: Final Demand routs rivals
Willie Mullins' Final Demand stamped his class on the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown with an all-the-way success. A winner at the Dublin Racing Festival, he was sent off favourite for the Turners Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham but could only finish third behind The New Lion and The Yellow Clay. He faced Gordon Elliott's 5-4 favourite The Yellow Clay once again, but he took a heavy fall at the last when well held in third. In truth the race was over by the second-last as Paul Townend continued to wind up the pace in the final half-mile, with the 7-4 shot drawing further and further clear. Paul Townend and Final Demand take the Grade 1 victory in the Champion Novice Hurdle. #rteracing 📺 Watch: @rte2 & @rteplayer 📱 Results: — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 2, 2025 "It was an awesome performance over that trip," said Mullins. "Paul felt he didn't go fast enough in Cheltenham and he said to Caroline (Tisdall, owner) 'today I'm going to show him off'. "I saw him jumping the first and second and I wasn't happy until he jumped the third that he was jumping well. "Then he was electric over a few of his hurdles, for a big chaser to jump the way he did – he was getting lengths at his hurdles when it mattered. "I thought he was going to tire around the fifth-last or fourth-last after the pace, but then he'd go down to the hurdle and just take a length out of a horse behind him. "If you can jump fences like that he's one to look forward to." When asked if he had schooled over fences, Mullins added: "No, not at home. There will be time enough next autumn. He won his point-to-point so he's well able to jump. "He's not a horse you'd want to stand on your foot! He's really one to look forward to." Dinoblue followed up her Cheltenham success in even easier fashion in the Hanlon Concrete Irish EBF Glencarraig Lady Francis Flood Mares Chase. Only four went to post for the Grade Two event and it was dominated by the two Mullins stablemates, Dinoblue (4-7 favourite) and Allegorie De Vassy. Allegorie De Vassy was a late faller at Cheltenham after being passed by Dinoblue and the time before had been beaten a neck by the same rival in the Opera Hat Chase. This time Townend laid it all out from early on and took a sizeable early lead, but Mark Walsh gradually reeled her in on Dinoblue and went away to win by 35 lengths. Mullins later confirmed the runner-up had run her last race. Dino Blue lived up to expectations to win the Mares Chase by some distance at Punchestown. #rteracing 📺 Watch: @rte2 & @rteplayer 📱 Results: — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 2, 2025 "She was very good today. I was hoping that Allegorie might get her own back on her after Cheltenham, but it wasn't going to be that way today," said Mullins. "Allegorie is in foal to Jukebox Jury so she's retired now. "Dinoblue looks to be getting better and better and hopefully we have her for next season. I don't see her going to stud for a while yet." Frank Berry said, winning owner JP McManus' racing manager, said: "You could set your clock by her every day. "She jumped great and she's just a pleasure to have around. She never lets you down. "I'd say it's her best year and she's maybe better than ever. "She'll have another season. She'll stick to the mares' races. There is a good programme for them and it suits her well." "Dinoblue looks to be getting better and better..." - Willie Mullins is looking forward to another year with the winner. #rteracing 📺 Watch: @rte2 & @rteplayer 📱 Results: — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 2, 2025
The Guardian
17-03-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Cheltenham report card: A for drama, room for improvement elsewhere
Solid A, if only for the most extraordinary running of Tuesday's Champion Hurdle in living memory. The odds-on Constitution Hill's departure at the fifth drew the biggest gasp of the week from the stands, while State Man's fall at the last with a second successive title within sight prompted the biggest groan. The regular failure of hot favourites including Jonbon, Ballyburn and, in the Gold Cup, Galopin Des Champs,to justify their short odds led to a series of compelling tales of the unexpected. The 100-1 success of the fast-finishing Poniros, on his hurdling debut, in the Triumph was the biggest shock of the lot,the third winner at a three-figure price since 1954. C-, and that's perhaps a little generous. After going into the week with strong fancies for several championship events, the home team's eight winners was the second-lowest in the four-day era. That did, admittedly, include three Grade One wins – a slight improvement on two in 2024 – and The New Lion looks a serious contender for championship honours next season while there is also some succour in the fact that Nicky Henderson's Jango Baie took the Arkle in the enforced absence of his stable star, Sir Gino. But for the fourth year running, Ireland had the majority of runners – 249, 55%, versus 200 from British stables and three from France – and comfortably outperformed its representation, with 71% of the winners. Willie Mullins matched his record total of 10 winners at the meeting despite three odds-on defeats and a repeat of Ireland's 23-winner haul in 2021 still feels a more likely prospect over the next few years than a Prestbury Cup success for the British. Sadly, a U is the only option here since so many failed to reach the minimum standard for a pass. Precisely why the combined might of the British and Irish weighing rooms found it so difficult to stick to the rules is hard to say – and the stewards failed to apportion any blame in almost every case – but the automatic standing starts that followed every failed attempt to get them away in the orderly fashion that works for almost every other jumps races all year seriously compromised the chances of several fancied runners. Maughreen, who whipped around at the start of the Mares' Novice Hurdle, was the most obvious sufferer, but Jonbon, the odds-on favourite for Wednesday's feature, was also on the back foot from the off after being slightly slow to stride. Significant numbers of punters will have endured the infuriating sense at some stage that they did not get a fair run for their money. The starts were much less of an issue on the final afternoon so perhaps the first three days were an aberration, but any repeat of similar problems at Aintree in three weeks' time will suggest that sterner intervention from the official may be required. Wetherby 2.00 V Twelve 2.30 Bois Guillbert 3.00 Audacious Annie 3.35 Grand Albert 4.10 Wearapinkribbon 4.45 Ballynoe Boy Exeter 2.15 Devon Dude 2.45 J J Moon 3.17 Stoner's Choice 3.52 Cooleenymore (nap) 4.27 Night Duty (nb) 5.02 Filanderer 5.35 Knockmoylan Wolverhampton 4.55 Victoria Harbour 5.25 Under Curfew 6.00 Aviano 6.30 Bold Suitor 7.00 Pessoa 7.30 Mariner 8.00 Rumba Bay 8.30 Harry The Haggler D for deflating. People still turned out for Gold Cup day, but the failure of the track's scheme offering a 20% discount on a ticket for Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday with a full-price purchase for any other card to generate any upturn over the first three days was disappointing, to say the least. The overall Tuesday-to-Thursday crowd is now down by 25% in three years. For many National Hunt fans, festival-going now seems to be one-day experience, with Gold Cup day seen as the only one worth the effort, expense and assorted travel-related indignities of being there. Attendance remains buoyant at other meetings earlier in the season, possibly as a result of some former festival-goers shifting their allegiance to the less frenetic days, so perhaps the discount offer could be extended to buying a ticket in November or December. While it makes sense to mine Cheltenham's audience and database for extra festival ticket sales next year, it will be a thankless task without also focusing on their all-important sense of … … which was perhaps a C+, or maybe a B-, for all that it is hard to assess objectively if you are in the privileged position of getting in for free. The significant jump in the crowd size for Friday's Gold Cup, and the knock-on effects on the experience of being there, were impossible to miss. The queues for food and coffee were much longer and so were the scrums for buses and taxis before and after racing. The bars – according to second-hand reports – were all but impenetrable too. The flipside is that racegoers on the first three days enjoyed something much closer to the 'premium' sporting experience Cheltenham would be hoping to supply. Relaxation of the rules on alcohol consumption in the enclosures seemed particularly welcome and we can only wonder how many thousands of hours have been wasted at previous festivals telling racegoers 'you can't bring your beer through here'. Business was seemingly much brisker in the betting ring, but a key element in overall attendance and customer experience is still the hyper-inflated cost of accommodation in the local area. That, to a large extent, is out of the track's control. The festival has many strengths, its biggest afternoon retains huge popularity and significance and, on balance, it enjoyed a positive year, albeit with some very obvious areas of weakness that are in need of urgent improvement. With Guy Lavender, its new head, having taken over less than three months ago, this was always likely to be a transitional season. Next year will be the first real examination of whether his new regime is starting to achieve results.
The Independent
14-03-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Saturday's Racing Tips: Best Bets For Uttoxeter And Kempton
Saturday's racing tips Timetoshine (1.37 Kempton) – win @ 6/4 bet365 Jilajone (1.50 Uttoxeter) – each-way @ 10/1 bet365 (four places, 1/5 odds) Red Dirt Road (2.25 Uttoxeter) – each-way @ 6/1 William Hill (five places, 1/5 odds) Aston Martini (2.45 Kempton) – win @ 5/1 Unibet 3.00 Apple Away (3.00 Uttoxeter) – each-way @ 9/1 BetVictor (five places, 1/5 odds) 3.00 Galia Des Liteaux (3.00 Uttoxeter) – each-way @ 14/1 William Hill (five places, 1/5 odds) After four pulsating days at Cheltenham, there is barely time for racing fans to draw breath as the Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter provides the latest big-field handicap for backers to solve. Lightly weighted contenders are often favoured on betting sites in this stamina-sapping event; however, the ground doesn't promise to be quite as deep as in previous years and that might help those at the head of the handicap. Saturday's Uttoxeter Tips Given she is a Grade 1 winner at Aintree over fences, Apple Away (3pm) could still be reasonably treated by the handicapper and the assessor rated her effort in the Grand National Trial at Haydock last time as her second career-best performance. She bumped into a resurgent Haydock specialist that day in Famous Bridge who was equipped with first-time cheekpieces, so lost little in defeat and her yard enjoyed another brilliant raid to the Festival this week with Myretown landing a major staying prize on Tuesday. Galia Des Liteaux has had a few more chances in some of the season's leading staying events than Apple Away and, although she has a few lengths to make up on our chief selection on horse racing betting sites, she may well finish a good deal closer. Firstly, she sports a tongue tie for the first time which may help, and we saw what a difference that made to Doddiethegreat in a warm Cheltenham handicap on Thursday. Secondly, she is reunited with Harry Skelton who traditionally gets a good tune from the mare who boasted the quality to finish a creditable eighth in last year's Grand National at Aintree. A mistake three from home stopped her in her tracks at Haydock but I'm hoping Skelton, on the mark with the classy The New Lion earlier in the week, can find an early rhythm at his fences and post a big performance. Earlier on the card, Jilajone (1.50pm) looks an attractive each-way wager on betting apps now he returns to the Staffordshire venue. The six-year-old did as well as he could to finish as close as he did at Ascot last time and he was a very impressive winner at this venue back in January. Red Dirt Road (2.25) is going to make a terrific staying chaser in time, but there are still nice prizes to pick up over hurdles and he should make a bold bid to follow up his recent Sandown win with success in the staying handicap hurdle. Saturday's Kempton Tips Elsewhere, Nicky Henderson experienced a mixed time at Cheltenham, but there were some positives and victories for Timetoshine (1.37pm) and Aston Martini (2.45pm) could end the week on a high for the master of Seven Barrows. The former recorded some terrific data despite a poor round of hurdling and, if she can remedy that sloppiness, could be a smart mare going forward. Aston Martini posted another solid effort behind an improving hurdler of Harry Fry's at Ascot and the cheekpieces may just enable her to find a little more improvement. Saturday's trip seems suitable, and, like a lot of her trainer's horses, she seems happier on some nice ground. When using gambling sites, be aware that sports betting can be addictive, so please take steps to remain in control of your time and budget. The same applies whether you're using slot sites, casino sites, casino apps, or any other gambling medium. Bettors should always follow responsible gambling practices. Even the most knowledgeable punter can lose a bet, so always stick to a budget and never chase your losses. It's particularly important not to get carried away by any free bets or casino offers you might receive, both of which are available in abundance on gambling sites, but must be approached with caution. You can stay in control by making use of the responsible gambling tools offered, such as deposit limits, loss limits, self-exclusion and time-outs. You may also want to visit the following free organisations to discuss any issues with gambling you might be having: We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
