SIR Gino remains a firm favourite for the My Pension Expert Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival, but Willie Mullins is loading up some strong ammunition to tackle Nicky Henderson’s star, with Ile Atlantique (13/8) joining stablemate Majborough in the Grade 1 picture thanks to a five-length win in the Grade 2 Racing Post Novice Chase.

Tony Bloom’s recent Navan winner has long had the physical stamp of a chaser and delivered a bold display on his favoured testing ground here.

He found generously for pressure when it came down to the crunch under Paul Townend, with Firefox (7/2) five lengths adrift in second and disappointing 11/10 favourite Inthepocket a further seven lengths behind in third.

Mullins said: “I think his efficient jumping won it for him. He loves that ground and, from an early stage, you could see he was jumping more efficiently than everything else. He’s matured a lot and got stronger since last year, which is a big help. Fences might just be the making of him. Today’s performance was huge, I thought.”

Ile Atlantique is now third favourite for the 2025 Arkle, cut to 8/1 (from 20/1), while Firefox was eased out to as big as 25/1 (from 16/1). Inthepocket can also be backed at 25/1 (from 8/1).

Dublin Racing Festival

On what could be next for the winner, Mullins added: “I think he can go two or two and a half miles. We’ll look at the Dublin Racing Festival. Majborough would be in the Irish Arkle and maybe Ile Atlantique could go along with him. We have a couple of options for the two-mile-five-furlong Ladbrokes Novice Chase at the same meeting. That would look where Ballyburn could go.”

Fun Fun Fun was cut to 12/1 (from 33/1) for the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham, after a commanding front-running success for the same stable in the two-and-a-half-mile Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Beginners Chase.

Ridden by her breeder, Patrick Mullins, the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned seven-year-old (SP 7/2) is already a Grade 2 bumper and Grade 3 novice hurdle winner, and a return to blacktype company over fences now looks to be calling.

Willie Mullins, who saddled the first three home, suggested the Listed Opera Hat Chase back at this track on February 8th could be an option for the seven-and-a-half-length winner.

“That was a nice performance,” said the champion trainer.

“She jumped reasonably enough for a mare making her first start over fences. I thought her jump at the fifth last changed the whole race; she got two lengths on the field and made the opposition have to come after her.”

Joystick turns it on

A treble for Mullins, and a double for Townend, was completed in the two-mile I.N.H. Stallion Owners Irish EBF Maiden Hurdle, when Joystick justified 5/6 favouritism in the colours of Susannah Ricci.

The former bumper winner improved from his defeat over half a mile further at Punchestown a month earlier to hold off a strong finishing effort from Gordon Elliott’s rules newcomer Honesty Policy.

Mullins said: “I think he wants a longer trip, but on that ground he was well able to keep up a good pace the whole way. Stamina was coming into play in those conditions.

“He’s one you’d be looking forward to over fences next season. I’d say he will go up in trip as the ground gets drier over the rest of the season.”

SNOW was falling heavily come the final two races of the card, and it was probably a smart performance in the circumstances from flat-bred newcomer Light Up The Dark (2/1 favourite) to make a winning debut in the first four-year-old bumper of the year.

Joseph O’Brien and E S Racing’s daughter of Camelot travelled with purpose and didn’t have to be at full stretch to win by seven lengths under John Gleeson in the Fifty Stars At Sunnyhill Stud-backed contest.

Gleeson said: “It was a nice performance. Those are very tough conditions, but she did it very well. It’s early days for these horses as four-year-olds, but you’d have to be very pleased with her.”

There was an equally authoritative winner of the Adare Manor Opportunity Handicap Hurdle 35 minutes earlier, as Doctor Churchill defied a 541-day absence to make a winning stable debut for Paddy Hayes at 28/1 under Cian Cullinan.

The Pierce Molony-owned seven-year-old was previously trained by David Evans, Gordon Elliott and Cormac Farrell, and confirmed his liking for testing ground when scoring by eight lengths over Krabat.

Cullinan said: “He took me into the race where I wanted him to be. I thought I was getting there too soon, but I had to trust him, and I knew he’d stay all day.

“After being off the track for so long, he’s only going to progress from it. He’s a happy horse and a different horse from when I knew him. That’s Paddy’s first winner in a while [since Pro Bono at Dundalk in November 2021], it’s nice to get one for him.”

Mozzie makes hay

Gavin Cromwell supplied the favourite, 7/4 shot Lazer Wolf, in the two-mile Race And Stay Handicap Chase, but ended up striking with an easy winner in the shape of The Other Mozzie (9/2) under Conor Stone-Walsh.

Conditions were much more testing than when the Pique Syndicate-owned performer notched his first win over fences at Galway in October, but he handled the rain-softened ground well and bounced back from being the last of six to finish at Cheltenham on his previous start in November.

Speaking after the 11-length win, Cromwell said: “I have to admit, I thought the handicapper had been a bit too hard on him and that’s why we claimed off him, but he was right and I was wrong. I’m not sure where we’ll go, probably a handicap.”