Going - Soft, Soft to Heavy in places (Hurdle); Soft to Heavy (Chase). Overcast, windy
Jackpot Pool - 1,404.21 Dividend - 89.20 Winning Units - 11.02. Placepot Pool - 41,728.86 Dividend - 149.40 Winning Units - 195.49. Days Aggregate - 161,347.06 Last Year
Kings Halo gives Dullea consecutive winners
Danny was brilliant and got the fractions right on him. I thought he’d gone a tad quick early on, but he knew what he was doing. Our fella jumped and travelled. I came up here in hope rather than confidence but the drop back in trip didn’t make any difference to him and it was a good performance. He has plenty of options now with trips and he’ll get into better handicaps now. The lads (Kings Halo Partnership) are great owners and are all from West Cork so it’s great.
Easy win for Boodles-bound Ndaawi
it was a good performance and he jumped well. His form was good and we knew he’d improved from the last day. He was entitled to do that. He’ll go for the Boodles at Cheltenham.
Zarak bounces back and lands the 'Limestone Lad'
it’s nice to put that bad run in Tipperary behind him and we felt he’d been doing things nice at home. He might need a longer trip as he’s getting settled now compared to what he used to be like. I’m very pleased to get him back on track. He’s only in the Champion Hurdle (at Cheltenham) and I’m not sure if he’ll go there. We might look at a few of the Graded races at Fairyhouse over Easter.
Embassy Gardens stakes Cheltenham claim
that was a really good performance and what I like about this horse is that he really loves jumping. When he sees a fence he wants to jump it and that’s a huge asset in this game. He jumps, stays and does everything right. He’s learned to settle now and is much easier to ride. He looks a natural for staying chasing and he’ll go for one of the staying chases in Cheltenham.
Kennedy continues championship chase at Naas
he’s a grand honest horse and probably a chaser in the making. Whatever he does this year will be a bonus. He stays well and I’d say it would be no problem for him to step right up to three miles.
McNamara pair on the mark with Millstream Lady
Millstream Lady is a game little mare - she’s not over big as you can see but she has plenty of guts. That was short of 2m3f and she stays 2m6f well, so we were determined to be reasonably handy the whole way. She also has to be ridden towards the outer as she gets a bit claustrophobic when she goes around the rails. I thought Conor gave her a lovely ride and she did it well. We’ll probably keep her now for the Final (of the Full Circle Series) and she might get into it off a light weight. She has a great heart and loves soft ground.
'They usually end up good' - finale winner impresses Mullins
he’s booked his ticket on the box (for Cheltenham) after that. It looked like there was plenty of pace on from the very beginning and horses that run around Naas in that kind of style on this ground usually end up good racehorses. I’m very happy with him and he looks a nice acquisition for Simon and Isaac (Munir and Souede).