While Willie Mullins has dominated the start of the week at the Cheltenham Festival , it certainly didn't go to plan for heavy favourite El Fabiolo at this afternoon's Champion Chase.
Heading into the race as 2/9 favourite, few would have expected the race to play out as it did, including Willie Mullins.
Rachael Blackmore atop Captain Guinness claimed the win for Henry De Bromhead's yard, but it was El Fabiolo's early departure from the chase which will steal the headlines.
🟢 Good to see El Fabiolo looks OK after this error 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/8g3hBlbKVh
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 13, 2024
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Willie Mullins: 'Famous Last Words'
Just moments before the start of the race, trainer Willie Mullins spoke to ITV about El Fabiolo's chances and it's safe to say that the veteran's words certainly came back to bite him.
It's nerve wrecking alright, especially in a big race like this. I think he (El Fabiolo) is a good horse, decent horse, I'm not as worried about his jumping as other people. Famous last words.
"It's nerve-wracking alright. Especially a big race like this" 🤞
El Fabiolo is the overwhelming favourite in a race that could take @WillieMullinsNH to a century of Cheltenham Festival wins#ITVRacing | #CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/hqUR3cfrqh
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 13, 2024
Speaking after the race, Willie Mullins gave his immediate reaction to El Fabiolo's disappointing performance.
Delighted for Henry, delighted for Rachael and our fella (Gentleman De Mee) has run a cracker.
He (El Fabiolo got very low over a few of them. I know he was a little bit chatty before but I was very concerned. He jumped the last one good, but then went on to the next one and stood back to far and didn't get high enough. Disappointing.
Sadly for Willie and his horse, El Fabiolo's jumping was the big concern, but it was another pre race incident which could have spooked the favourite.
Just before the start of the race, the horses went over to the fence for a final glance at what was ahead of them. Just as Paul Townend and El Fabiolo pulled away, the horse seemed to trod on and get stuck briefly on top of the board before getting away.
Perhaps it could have just been a coincidence or some pre-race nerves from the horse, but it certainly didn't work out as Willie Mullins or many punters would have hoped, with thousnads of people seemingly backing the Mullins treble of Ballyburn, Fact To File and El Fabiolo.
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