Can Carefully Selected follow up Thyestes win on his way to Grand National tilt?

Willie Mullins has won the Grade 3 tote Fantasy Bobbyjo Chase 11 times, six in a row from 2016-2021, his sequence broken last season by Ted Walsh and Any Second Now.

The Closutton trainer has aimed a formidable duo at this year's race in four-time Grade 1 winner Kemboy and last month's Thyestes winner Carefully Selected.

The latter was returning from nearly three years off when running in the Paddy Power at Christmas, putting in an admirable effort in the circumstances, tiring from the second-last to finish 11th.

The lightly raced 11-year-old then made the anticipated improvement when putting in a smart performance to land the Thyestes Handicap Chase at Gowran last month.

His jumping isn't flawless but it has improved significantly from his novice days judging on his performance at Gowran. That was an outstanding effort off a mark of 147 and he showed a determined attitude to stay on to beat Dunboyne by a short head.

There is likely to be bit more improvement in the gelding given his long lay-off and, despite his not being the choice of Paul Townend who rides Kemboy, he has sound claims of taking this race under Danny Mullins before contesting some of the premier marathon handicaps over fences in the spring.

Kemboy has been a consistent horse for the Mullins team and looks to retain plenty of his ability as an 11-year-old based on his runner-up efforts earlier in the season behind Envoi Allen and Conflated.

He was last seen when beaten 21 lengths into sixth behind stablemate Galopin Des Champs at Leopardstown but is a classy animal at his best and rarely runs a bad race, so he should be in the mix.

Pencilfulloflead was staying on notably well when beaten five lengths into third by the selection in the Thyestes and is relatively unexposed over fences, given this is only his third start back after nearly a year off, so he is fascinating contender for the Gordon Elliott team.

'He has been an incredible horse for us'

Kemboy takes a drop in class to Grade 3 level for Paul Townend and Willie Mullins having been a consistent presence in all the top three-mile Grade 1s in recent years.

The 11-year-old escapes a penalty, despite the drop in grade, and has shown he still retains his ability after finishing runner-up in two Grade 1s earlier in the season.

He has had 35 races for the Mullins team, winning nine times with four of those coming at Grade 1 level, which includes victories in the Irish Gold Cup and the Punchestown version, which was Ruby Walsh's last ride on a racecourse.

Patrick Mullins is hoping the conditions of today's race suit Kemboy and notes he might not be finished winning yet.

He said: "Kemboy has a drop in class, no penalties and the trip will suit. Only slight worry would be if the ground was on the slow side as he likes a sounder surface, but the conditions of the race suit him well. 

"He has been an incredible horse for us and has been around since he was a four-year-old. He has been very sound, consistent and won some fantastic races and I'm sure he isn't finished just yet."

This race has worked remarkably well for the Closutton team as a National trial, illustrated by Hedgehunter's victory in 2005 before going on to Aintree glory. More recently, Pleasant Company and Rathvinden both landed the race before being placed in the National, and a similar route could be on the cards for Mullins' other runner Carefully Selected.

What they say

Patrick Mullins, assistant trainer to Willie Mullins, trainer of Kemboy, Carefully Selected
Carefully Selected ran a cracker to win in the Thyestes. He obviously has missed a lot of time with injury and we are hoping to go to Aintree with him and this race is a good National trial. He is lightly raced, so would want some miles and experience into his legs. He is still learning as he didn't have that many runs as a novice, so hopefully he can continue to improve as he gains more experience.

Martin Brassil, trainer of Longhouse Poet
If he can get over the disappointment of Gowran, then we would be hoping for a good run. The favourite will be hard to beat and it looks competitive, but he needs to have a run over fences in his preparation for the National.

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