'It looked like he was going to pull up down the back straight' - Willie Mullins reflects on Gaelic Warrior and El Fabiolo runs

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Willie Mullins reported El Fablolo to be perfectly fine following his crashing early departure from the Ladbrokes Dublin Chase as once again his jumping frailties came back to haunt him, while the champion trainer will consider taking away Gaelic Warrior's hood for his next outing following a lethargic effort from last year's explosive Arkle hero. 

Mullins had won all seven runnings of the Dublin Chase thanks to Min (2018, 2019), Chacun Pour Soi (2020, 2021, 2022), Gentleman De Mee (2023) and El Fabiolo (2024) and looked to have a stranglehold on this year's race too, with Gaelic Warrior (6-4) and El Fabiolo (3-1) at the top of the market. 

But this was one Grade 1 at the Dublin Racing Festival that did not go Mullins' way at all. El Fabiolo crashed out at the second fence after meeting it all wrong under JJ Slevin, who was on board for the first time, and Gaelic Warrior was never competitive as he plugged on in his own time for third, beaten 14 lengths by Solness. 

Slevin reported El Fabiolo to be "perfect" after the spill, while Mullins went on to add that the four-time Grade 1 winner was none the worse for the fall. 

He said: "El Fabiolo looked fine afterwards. He just got his foot caught in the reins, so we were worried for the first stride or two after he got up, but he seems fine."

When asked for his thoughts on the unusual display of Gaelic Warrior, Mullins suggested something might show up to explain the strange effort.

He said: "It looked like he was going to pull up down the back straight. There might be an explanation for that later on, so we'll see. I had a hood on him today, but maybe he doesn't need it anymore."

Paddy Power reacted by pushing Gaelic Warrior out to 9-2 (from 5-2) for the Champion Chase, while El Fabiolo is now as big as 14-1 with Betfair. Jonbon has hardened as favourite and is no bigger than evens.

Read these next:

'I could see him running a big race in the Champion Chase' - Solness camp eyeing Jonbon clash after second Grade 1 win 

State Man breezes to third successive Irish Champion Hurdle after fall of stablemate Lossiemouth 

Willie Mullins 'never lost faith' in Ballyburn as top prospect cut to 15-8 favourite for Brown Advisory after Grade 1 win  

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