Mullins lands the 'small fry handicap' with 40/1 outsider

Champion Trainer Willie Mullins is sweeping all before him at the Dublin Racing Festival and squeezed in a 40/1 winner of the Grade B William Fry Handicap Hurdle with Conor McNamara-partnered Maze Runner in the colours of his wife Jackie.

Mullins registered a four-timer at yesterday's Leopardstown fixture and having bagged another Grade 1 win with Appreciate It in today's earlier race, added this €60,000-to-the-wife prize as the son of Authorized beat runner-up Unexpected Depth by four and a half lengths.

Jockey Conor McNamara, who is based with trainer Gavin Cromwell, was registering his second success for Mullins and had his claim reduced to 3lbs with the win.

Afterwards Mullins reported “he raced too keen in Navan and racing like that he wasn’t jumping well. Today I just said to Conor to get him switched off which he did and he gave him a super ride.

“He rode him for luck and got a great run up the inside most of the way and it paid off. He stayed that trip well.

“I’ll look forward to all the Festivals with him for the rest of the season and he can go back and race on the Flat as well. He can mix it between the two and he might win a chase at some stage.

“There could be a big handicap in him on the Flat.”

Runner-up Unexpected Depth was later cut to 14/1, from 25s, with Betfair for the Pertemps Final at the Cheltenham festival, having qualified for that race with a third-place finish in a Christmas Qualifier.

Quotes from Alan Magee