Willie Mullins poised to make it eight wins on the bounce in the Grade 1 novice chase - but with who?

Willie Mullins has dominated this Grade 1, winning eight out of the last nine with only Tom George breaking his sequence in 2014 when God's Own caused a shock. Mullins saddles three of the four runners with the Mouse Morris-trained Indiana Jones tasked with wresting Closutton's stranglehold on the trophy.

El Fabiolo looks something out of the ordinary. His proclivity to bulldoze a fence doesn't seem to curb his momentum in the slightest, and his performances at the Dublin Racing Festival and in the Arkle were imperious. The six-year-old seems to just possess immense power and he has annihilated any rival that he has faced so far over fences, including a formidable British challenger in the shape of Jonbon.

Should he retain the vigour that has seen him surge away from his rivals on his last two starts, then it is unlikely any horse here will be able to hold him off in the closing stages.

Dysart Dynamo clearly has a lot of latent talent, although he is still figuring out how to harness it. He is an incredibly likeable competitor who races enthusiastically and jumps every obstacle as if it is his last. The seven-year-old tends not to prove very tractable in the opening stages of his races, always craving to go a stride faster so he can gather the necessary pace to take a customary cut at every one of his fences.

When he proves more amenable to instructions, there will no doubt be a Grade 1 in him and this track will most certainly play to his usual tactics. If he can jump with his typical verve and force a characteristic mistake out of El Fabiolo at a crucial stage, then he might be away and gone before the Arkle winner can get reorganised.

Saint Roi is a consistent operator and looked to be coming with a winning challenge in the Manifesto at Aintree two weeks ago but probably was just outstayed by Banbridge. He will be ridden patiently and should Dysart Dynamo overdo things on the front end, which is a distinct possibility, then he will be finishing strong and might have a significant part to play.

As the sole challenger to the Closutton team, Indiana Jones has an unenviable task for the seven-year-old. He is a smart operator at two miles, as illustrated at Navan last month when he defeated Ha D'Or and subsequent Grade 1 winner Flame Bearer.

What they say

Willie Mullins, trainer of Dysart Dynamo, El Fabiolo and Saint Roi
Dysart Dynamo ran well before taking a hard fall at the last at Cheltenham. He has schooled well since and if his confidence is not shaken he should run a good race. El Fabiolo was very impressive in the Arkle at Cheltenham and with luck should go in again. Saint Roi ran a great race when second at Aintree and that run puts him in the picture here.

Mouse Morris, trainer of Indiana Jones
It was a good effort when he won at Navan and the form got a boost with Flame Bearer winning the Grade 1 at Fairyhouse. If he produces his best, he should run well. I'd say better ground would suit him.

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