NICK Rockett has been highlighted by Willie Mullins as the trainer’s best chance of winning the €500,000 BoyleSports Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday, April 1st.

Starting next Saturday, the three-day Easter Festival features 23 races, all sponsored, and with a total prize fund of more than €1.5 million.

Mullins had a long wait for his first success in the race which finally came when Burrows Saint won in 2019. The champion trainer won it again last year with I Am Maximus and both those victories meant a lot to Mullins.

“It took us a long time to win it and it was an itch that needed scratching,” he told a press briefing earlier this week. “My father had won it four times, so when Burrows Saint won it gave me as much pleasure as winning any race, especially as it was for Rich Ricci and Ruby was riding it.”

Burrows Saint was favourite that year and, last year, I Am Maximus was close to favourite but looked to have no chance at the halfway stage after some poor jumping. However, Paul Townend never gave up and cajoled the novice into the race, eventually winning by a length

Mullins recalled: “I thought Paul was going to pull him up at one stage but when he pulled the horse to the outside he galloped a bit better. It was some ride. Paul was thinking on his feet the whole way. To get that performance after those first two miles, it was extraordinary horsemanship. He had shown himself to be a real jockey a few weeks earlier when he won the Gold Cup on Galopin Des Champs.”

“Paul was second jockey to Ruby [Walsh] for how many years and I was surprised when the media would wonder if he would succeed Ruby. I never thought about it, it was always going to happen.

“It never crossed my mind that there would be more pressure on Paul in the top job. But there probably was. About six months into it, after he had picked the wrong one to ride in a few races, Paul joked with me that he would like his old job back. It’s much easier to ride as second jockey alright. But I have always had full confidence in him.”

Mullins has 12 entries in this year’s BoyleSports Irish Grand National and, pressed to nominate his best chance, he plumped for the novice Nick Rockett.

“He has performed well two or three times around Fairyhouse and I love horses for courses,” the trainer said. “Paul was very happy with him when he won there on New Year’s Day, so we thought we’d aim him at the National. It’s definitely the plan.

“I think he has the attributes – he jumps around Fairyhouse so well, he has a nice weight and he is a novice coming up the ranks. He is a stoutly-bred horse so the extra distance should not be an issue. He settles well – hopefully Paul will find a pocket for him and put him to sleep for most of the race. He ticks all the boxes – we just have to get him there in the right order.”

Of his remaining entries, Mullins indicated Bronn and Minella Cocooner were two of the more likely to turn out.

“Minella Cocooner stays all day and has a nice weight. Bronn was disappointing at Naas but he could go there, and maybe Ontheropes too if he gets in.”

BoyleSports current betting: 4 Nick Rockett, 7 Intense Raffles, 8 Desertmore House, 10 Hartur D’Arc, 11 Yeah Man, 12 Senior Chief, 14 Any Second Now, We’llhavewan, 16 bar.

FUN Fun Fun is likely to be the number one Willie Mullins contender for the Grade 1 Irish EBF Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle on Easter Sunday.

“She was very impressive at Naas last time out and we deliberately missed Cheltenham with her,” the trainer said. “This is a Grade 1 race, Cheltenham’s mares’ hurdle is only a Grade 2. The prize money at Fairyhouse is very good and that has to be recognised and acknowledged. I would like to thank [general manager] Peter Roe and his team for putting together such a good programme over the three days. We made sure we kept some good horses for it.”

Looking back at the Cheltenham Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, where Jeremy Scott’s Golden Ace defeated three well-fancied Irish rivals, including the Mullins-trained Jade De Grugy, Mullins said: “I think the Irish horses were all marking each other and they didn’t go the pace that any of them wanted. It turned into a sprint.”

WillowWarm Gold Cup

Mullins has a good record in the other Grade 1 race on Easter Sunday – the WillowWarm Gold Cup (Novice Chase), which like the Irish EBF Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle, is also over two and a half miles.

Cheltenham hero Gaelic Warrior is one of 12 Mullins-trained entries in the WillowWarm Gold Cup, but isn’t a certain runner. “We brought back Galopin Des Champs from Cheltenham to win this two years ago, so it can be done. But if Gaelic Warrior does not run then Blood Destiny and Tactical Move look two good substitutes,” the trainer said.

“Holding up Blood Destiny worked well last time out – he has the speed when you need it – and Tactical Move has the ability for a race like this.

“Of the others we have entered, Hercule Du Seuil worked well this week, Il Etait Temps is hardy enough to run again after Cheltenham, and Sharjah could take his chance if the ground dries out.

“It comes too soon for Fact To File and Mister Policeman, while we need to figure out what is wrong with Facile Vega. His last three bits of work before Cheltenham were fantastic but he disappointed us there. Maybe he left his race on the gallops – he is taking a lot of working out.”

WHAT do Brandy Love, Ashroe Diamond and Dysart Enos all have in common?

All three were late withdrawals from the past three runnings of the Grade 2 mares’ novice hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. The first two went on to win the Grade 1 Irish EBF Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival, and now Dysart Enos could attempt to follow suit.

Fairyhouse general manager Peter Roe reports that trainer Fergal O’Brien is strongly considering the race for Dysart Enos who was among the favourites for the Cheltenham race although latest reports suggest she will go to Aintree instead.

Another possible British-trained runner at Fairyhouse next weekend is Givemefive, a classy four-year-old hurdler trained by Harry Derham for professional golfers Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell. Givemefive finished a close second in the Adonis Hurdle at Kempton recently and is on track to run in the Grade 2 O’Driscolls Irish Whiskey Juvenile Hurdle at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday. The race sponsor recently signed a three-year deal backing the race.

Peter Roe is a great believer in course form for Fairyhouse and mentions Nick Rockett, Intense Raffles and Where’s Frankie as three previous Fairyhouse winners who he would love to see running well in the BoyleSports Irish Grand National.

Three-day meeting

The three-day meeting may be a week away but Roe is pretty sure the meeting will start on easy ground. “Put it like this, we definitely won’t be watering!” he said. “Ground can dry quickly at this time of year – and we have fresh ground for all three days – but the country has had so much rain recently that the word ‘soft’ will probably be in the going description next weekend.”

There are 19 individual sponsors supporting the 23 races at the Festival and they include new supporters Race Displays and Envirogreen.

“We are delighted with the support we have received from businesses for the weekend,” said Roe. “They represent a broad spectrum of industries who all value the association with Fairyhouse and our iconic Easter Festival.”

SENIOR National Hunt handicapper Sandy Shaw is hoping to see six or seven horses grouped together as the field for the BoyleSports Irish Grand National swing into the home straight on Monday week.

“Thankfully that has been the case in recent years and we have had some great finishes, but the National has become a race which favours unexposed novices and maybe one of these years a horse will win by 20 lengths,” he said.

After seeing Irish novices Inothewayurthinking, Corbetts Cross and Limerick Lace all show greatly improved form at Cheltenham, Shaw joked he is “shaking in my boots” at the thought of Fairyhouse favourite Nick Rockett bolting in on Easter Monday.

“He’s unexposed, only run seven times in his life, didn’t go to Cheltenham, and he could be well-handicapped,” Shaw admitted. “He’s a seven-year-old and six of the last nine winners of the Irish National were aged six or seven. It’s the younger types who tend to win the race these days. The only question is whether the horse will handle the hurly-burly of a 30-runner field, although the race has cut up a bit at this week’s forfeit stage.”

Shaw picked out the Tom Gibney-trained Intense Raffles as “the most difficult horse of all to rate” in this year’s race. The French import has won both his Irish starts to-date, both at Fairyhouse. “I’ve put him in on 140 and he could be 7lb too low or 7lb too high,” the handicapper said.

IN a change to the running order this year, Ladies Day at the Easter Festival is next Saturday, March 30th. Peter Roe, general manager of Fairyhouse Racecourse, said: “Style and fashion have always gone hand in hand with Fairyhouse, and we felt that we needed to give this element of the Easter Festival the attention it deserved by moving the Style Awards onto Easter Saturday.

“This means Ladies Day is now suitability positioned as the main social event on the opening day of the Easter Festival, complimented by the Fred Kenny Memorial Ladies National and a vibrant atmosphere.” The feature race is the €100,000 RYBO Handicap Hurdle.

Lyrath Estate, the elegant five-star in Kilkenny, is this year’s Style Awards partner. All are welcome to enter the Style Awards competition to be in a chance to win up to €3,000 in prizes. Registration will take place from the gates opening in the champagne tent.

Irene O’Brien and Naomi Clarke are the judges. Irene will host the Festival Marquee where she will interview entrants, host a pre-race tipster, and give away spot prizes throughout the day.

Asked what she will be looking for on the day, Irene said: “I love to see ladies mix clothing from their existing closet collections together with their new or vintage pieces; to think outside the box in terms of fashion and consider embracing restyles; to support Irish and independent designers while including gems from the high street.”

DJ Kelly Anne Byrne will perform in the Festival Marquee during the day.

MANY of the hospitality packages for the three-day Easter Festival are sold out or have limited availability.

General admission tickets start at just €20 for Saturday, rising to €40 on Easter Monday. Discounts are available for seniors and students, while children under 12 are admitted free (only €5 for those aged 13-17).

There is also a return bus service operating from Dublin’s George’s Quay bus stop each day, and from Navan Racecourse on Monday. Details are on the Fairyhouse website.

Check out the Bublé & Bubbles and Bulmers Bundle packages while stocks last!

Web: fairyhouse.ie