Classy novice Gaelic Warrior out to defy topweight for Mullins and Townend

There has rarely been a novice whose seasonal target has been more speculated about than Gaelic Warrior, but he is set to contest a hugely competitive handicap here off 11st 12lb. However, he is not your typical inexperienced novice as he has retained that status in his second season with Willie Mullins and this will be his seventh run over hurdles.

A big-field handicap shouldn't pose too many problems for the son of Maxios given he was narrowly denied in last year's Boodles at Cheltenham by Brazil in what was a 21-runner handicap. He jumped a few of the hurdles to his right then and has only run at right-handed tracks Tramore and Clonmel since, so it will be informative to see how he jumps going left-handed today with a view to Cheltenham.

He is highly talented but will be well found in the market and these competitive Leopardstown handicaps are unpredictable.

All Those Years is an interesting contender for Charles Byrnes. He won a novice hurdle over two miles at Cork a year ago and is completely unexposed having only had seven starts over hurdles. Byrnes has an incredible record in this race having won it three years on the trot from 2018 to 2020.

Hey Johnny for Tom Mullins was very impressive at Thurles only two weeks ago and this sort of test should be right up his street given he is a strong traveller and a slick jumper. A 9lb rise in the weights might not be enough to keep him out of contention here.

Others who seem to be in with strong shouts include Tax For Max and Good Time Jonny. The former was a good winner at Punchestown when last seen back in November but can race quite freely so will need to settle in this big field, while the latter won the three mile handicap at this meeting last year and boasts track form of 3113.

What will Warrior do and where will he turn at Cheltenham?

Gaelic Warrior is set to face the biggest test of his short career so far as he attempts to shoulder top weight in one of the most competitive handicaps in the Irish calendar.

The five-year-old was an excruciating short head behind Brazil in last year's Boodles at the Cheltenham Festival off a mark of 129 on his first start for Mullins and now seeks to defy 143 here after two effortless wins at Tramore and Clonmel so far this season.

He landed prohibitive odds of 1-12 and 1-14 on both of those occasions but barely broke sweat in winning both contests by a cumulative 101 lengths. The son of Maxios is as short as 6-1 for the Supreme and 5-1 for the Ballymore non runner no bet and will have to go close to winning this to justify being at the head of the market for either of those targets.

He is up against a typically deep field for a valuable handicap here. All Those Years in the McManus silks for Charles Byrnes drops back in trip and is likely to be popular in the betting, while Tax For Max, also from the Mullins stable, was an impressive winner of a conditions hurdle on his latest start at Punchestown last November.

Hey Johnny has to contend with a 9lb rise in the weights after his impressive Thurles win for Tom Mullins and Good Time Jonny has an excellent record at this track for Tony Martin and is dropping back significantly in trip having finished third in a Pertemps qualifier here over Christmas.

What they say

Paul Townend, rider of Gaelic Warrior
He looks to be off a nice mark still. He got 9lb for winning the last day and is up to a mark of 143 but I think that is workable with him. Top weight won’t inconvenience him too much. I wouldn’t swap him.

Tony Martin, trainer of Good Time Jonny
He's in good form. He looks to always perform well around Leopardstown so hopefully he can give a good account of himself. We are hoping for a good run.

Martin Brassil, trainer of An Epic Song 
This usually turns into a stamina test and hopefully it does this time as well as that would suit him. He's in good form and I'm hoping he goes well, but it's obviously a very competitive race.

Gordon Elliott: saddles three runnersCredit: Debbie Burt

Gordon Elliott, trainer of The Tide Turns, An Mhi and Fortunedefortunata 
The Tide Turns has lost his way but he was a good juvenile so hopefully he can bounce back to that sort of form. An Mhi is consistent and has bumped into some good horses along the way, including Facile Vega. Fortunedefortunata is a nice young horse who should have a nice future but lacks a bit of experience for a big handicap like this.

Charles Byrnes, trainer of All Those Years
Hopefully the drop back in trip will suit him. He ran very keen the last day and we are hoping he settles a bit better now at two miles.

Tom Mullins, trainer of Hey Johnny
He did it well at Thurles and hopefully he can come forward again. He has a lovely weight and he will need to step up but hopefully he can. He's a very good jumper and slick at his hurdles so we are hopeful.

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