Inside Track
Setbacks galore but Mullins still saddles big race treble
Inside Track with John McIntyre
SOME of the headlines emanating from Fairyhouse racecourse last Sunday, the most prestigious day of the Irish National Hunt season so far, would leave you almost feeling sorry for the all-conquering Willie Mullins yard which endured a number of high profile setbacks.
Firstly, the much touted Allez Colombieres suffered a serious injury in the Grade 1 Royal Bond Novice Hurdle, leaving Ruby Walsh with no choice but to pull up the expensive French import which had cost €300,000. Unfortunately, the horse’s injuries were so serious that Vets at the track had no choice but to put him down.
Mullins also saddled the favourite in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle, another Grade 1 event, but Zaidpour came to grief on the back straight which helped to pave the way for an emotional big race success for Lieutenant Colonel and Sandra Hughes, who has just taken over her late father Dessie’s training licence. More disappointment followed when another highly regarded stable contender, Childrens List, surprisingly finished out of the money in the concluding bumper.
Three strongly supported market leaders and all failing to justify their odds on the same card for one reason or another would be enough to demoralise most trainers, if they were so lucky to saddle such a strong team in the first place, but Mullins still left the Co. Meath last Sunday consoled by the fact that he had managed a treble.
There were Grade 1 triumphs for stable second string Nichols Canyon in the Royal Bond and the impressive Valsuer Lido in the Drinmore Novice Chase, while Ireland’s champion trainer had also got the meeting off to the perfect when another French import Kalkir ran away with Juvenile hurdle. It may have been a day of mixed fortunes for the stable, but it also underlined the embarrassment of riches at Mullins’ disposal.
He has dominated National Hunt racing for virtually the past decade, but this season he is sweeping all before him in a manner which we have not seen before. During the month of November alone, Mullins tuned out a staggering 36 winners at a strike rate of over 40% and 20 of those were sent off at really prohibitive odds on prices. Even professional punters would baulk at getting involved with 1-6 and 2-11 chances.
These kind of odds are not good for the betting industry either with turnover way down in those races in which Mullins saddles ‘hot pots’. His rival trainers must be really envious of their Co. Carlow based counterpart as apart from the yards of Gordon Elliott, Noel Meade, Henry De Bromhead, Jessica Harrington and the late Dessie Hughes, the rest have to make do with increasingly lean pickings.
They say Mullins is something of a genius when getting horses ready and that he has an ‘eye’ for potential good ones, but his task has been made much easier by having so many wealthy patrons on his books. The small trainers and owners are being squeezed out – for instance, what chance has a reasonably regarded animal from a modest operation got against a €150,000 French import in a maiden hurdle – and, if anything, their prospects are getting bleaker all the time.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
SOMETHING very odd happened to Tyrone in the Ulster championship in early April. On their home turf of Healy Park, they were doing nearly everything expected of them when leading Monaghan by five points at half-time. You couldn’t say for definite that the match was done and dusted, but the 2021 All-Ireland champions were in pole position.
You would have expected them to drive on against an honest if limited Monaghan outfit. Instead, Tyrone didn’t score for the opening 16 minutes of the second-half and in an enthralling finale, were left stunned by defender Ryan’s Toole’s stoppage-time goal snatching the honours for the Farney men on a 2-17 to 1-18 scoreline.
A couple of weeks later, Monaghan themselves had exited the Ulster title race when Derry comfortably got the better of them (1-21 to 2-10), leaving us more puzzled than ever by Tyrone’s dramatic decline since overcoming Mayo to claim Sam barely 20 months previously. Last year, they crashed out of Ulster by 11 points to Derry and subsequently came up six short against Armagh in the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Against that background, their recent loss to Monaghan shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. Tyrone may have made a shambolic defence of the All-Ireland title, but there is still a lot of quality in their ranks. They have an adventurous ‘keeper in Niall Morgan, while the long-serving Peter Harte, Darragh Canavan, Darren McCurry, Cathal McShane, Conor Meyler, Mattie Donnelly, and Conn Kilpatrick are all top-class performers when in the mood.
There’s hardly been a word about them for the past six weeks. Tyrone are lying low, desperately trying to rediscover the verve and cohesion which took them all the way in 2021. Their pride is on the line. It makes them dangerous opponents for Galway in the opening round of All-Ireland group matches at Pearse Stadium on Saturday.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Inside Track with John McIntyre
GALWAY footballers won’t get much credit for their easy victory over Sligo in Sunday’s Connacht Final in Castlebar, but when a team achieves something that hasn’t been done for 20 years, perhaps we should be a little more appreciative of the Tribesmen retaining the JJ Nestor Cup for the first time in two decades.
To be honest, if Galway were to live up to their standing as serious All-Ireland contenders, they needed to be doing a number on Sligo. In this year’s National League, the counties were three divisions apart and though Tony McEntee’s team achieved promotion and were on a nine-match unbeaten run, a serious rise in class faced them at MacHale Park.
Granted, Sligo made a bright start with three points in the opening five minutes from Pat Spillane, Sean Carrabine and the accurate Darragh Cummins, but they would only manage two more by the break despite having the wind behind them. Though wing back Luke Towey was catching the eye with his runs up-field, Galway rarely looked under pressure.
Sligo were bravely committing numbers to the middle third, which meant they were a little light in numbers around their own posts. They couldn’t afford to lose possession coming out of their own half, but that’s what happened in the build up to Galway’s second goal. Damien Comer overturned Cian Lally and from his counter-attack, Matthew Tierney expertly finished to the net at the near post.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Inside Track with John McIntyre
IS the Leinster hurling championship something of a sham compared to its Munster counterpart? Everybody knows who will end up in the provincial final in the east, but nobody knows the two teams who will feature in the ultimate battle for supremacy down south.
All-Ireland champions Limerick aren’t guaranteed to even make it out of the province, never mind reach the Munster final, after their narrow loss to Clare in Saturday evening’s epic at the Gaelic Grounds. Everything is still on the line for the five counties involved, although Waterford are again under serious pressure after losing their opening two matches.
In Leinster, there is little of that drama. Galway and Kilkenny are miles ahead of the rest; the only thing at stake is whether Dublin or Wexford – they meet in Croke Park on Saturday – will be the third team to emerge for the All-Ireland series. It’s a game which is hard to call. Wexford are going backwards while Dublin look callow as Micheál Donoghue is trying to build the nucleus of a new team.
Though Antrim are improving – they held the Dubs to a draw and only lost to Wexford by four points – the men from the Glens would be out of their depth in Munster; while Westmeath are proving cannon-fodder for everyone else. Since Galway headed east in 2009, they have clashed with Kilkenny in seven Leinster finals and another showdown is inevitable next month.
In contrast, every match in Munster is virtually do-or die. When Clare rolled into Limerick last Saturday, they knew another defeat after losing to Tipperary in the opening round would leave them on the precipice of exiting the championship. There’s a real dog-eat-dog appeal about all the games. In Leinster, there are two big hounds, and the rest are chihuahuas.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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