David Casey highlights a Mullins banker win double and each-way treble for Cheltenham

David Casey provided plenty of helpful pointers for last year’s Cheltenham Festival and the assistant trainer to Willie Mullins recently spoke to BOYLE Sports with his insights on the Mullins yard as they prepare for this year's Irish raid on the Cotswolds.

Get this cracking Cheltenham Offer with BOYLE Sports

We have 14 entries for the Supreme - it looks a really deep race this year

It isn’t fully decided but I’d imagine the likes of Leader d’Allier and King Rasko Grey who ran a brilliant race at the DRF are the two that would look like they'd be going there.

Mighty Park could possibly go there too. Even though we haven't got a favourite, I think King Rasko Grey ran brilliantly at the DRF and was just touched off. I think he can improve plenty.

Leader d’Allier was very disappointing at Christmas but he improved hugely to win at Punchestown, while Mighty Park was very impressive when he won at Fairyhouse.

So, we have chances going into the race. I think we've got some nice horses going in there but it looks like a really deep Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the moment.

Old Park Star for Nicky Henderson is the big threat - he’s a fine specimen

He's been impressive and he looks a fine specimen of a horse. He's been impressive in what he's done so far. And obviously, Nicky knows what it takes to win a Supreme and he's bullish about him. So, you've got to have a huge respect for it.

Kopek Des Bordes is in great order for the Arkle but ideally we would have preferred for him to have more experience over fences

The fact that Kopek Des Bordes has only had one run, means he’s lacking the experience of somebody other runners in the race. It's not ideal, but it is what it is. It's the cards we've been dealt.

Ability wise, I think he's bang up there - he doesn't lack for anything ability wise.

Ideally you would have preferred a little more experience, but that's what we have and we're happy to go the reason. He’s in great order.

I’m not sure which way Lossiemouth will go yet - Constitution Hill not being in the Champion Hurdle opens that race up a lot

It opens it up a lot! We have a few in there. I’m not sure which way Lossiemouth will go yet. She was very good at the first two runs of the season and with those runs you'd probably be looking at a Champion Hurdle. She was disappointing the last time behind Brighterdaysahead and on that form, you'd be saying, maybe not.

What do we think? We can have her much better. She didn't show up on the day. We think we can have her much better than that but she is in the Mares’.

Assessing our chances in the Turners on day two

We’ve got the likes of Sortudo who was second in the Grade 1 at Naas, he could probably run here. Sober won a two mile race and a step up and trip would help him definitely. He's won over two miles six on the Flat and staying trips on the Flat, so,I think two and a half or two five would definitely help him. I think he'd go there with a chance.

We could have the likes of Saint Baco who disappointed at Naas. On the day he wasn't right, he would definitely have a big chance as he looks as if he's in much better form at the moment.

A couple more, maybe Laurets d’Estruval and a horse called Free Spirit, they could all run in this.

Maybe it doesn't look as strong as the Supreme, but there are some good horses in it, maybe Ballyfad and Skylight Hustle both from Gordon’s [Elliott] yard and are already Grade 1 winners could pitch up. It is a deep race but I think the likes of Sortudo, Sober and Saint Baco could put up a good show.

Final Demand was disappointing at DRF but we can have him better for the Brown Advisory

Kaid d’Authie won well at the DRF. Final Demand was disappointing in that race when he was only third. We think we can have him better hopefully, and he seems in good enough form at home.

Kaid d’Authie is one we always thought was a very good horse. We put cheek pieces on him and they seemed to do the trick the last day.

We'd have a couple more too - Kitzbuhel was very impressive at Kempton at Christmas. He didn't back it up when he got as far as think only the third or fourth fence in Sandown the last day, but he didn't have a hard race, obviously, because of it. They are all in the mix in what is a good Brown Advisory.

Majborough will be very hard to beat in the Champion Chase

Il Etait Temps disappointed at Ascot and he's on a bit of a retrieval mission. Hopefully he can be better than that. He was very good at Sandown last year and at Sandown this year when he decisively beat Jonbon twice.

But what Majborough did at Leopardstown was pretty exceptional and I thought if he put up the same performance, he'd be very hard to beat.

He used to be a bit keen and we put cheek pieces on him. We felt that when he was in front on his own, he used to idle and we think that's the reason he made the mistakes.

So, at Christmas we tried getting a bit of cover and we sent him in behind Solness, and he jumped better but we didn't use his attributes. He stays well and he can go at a very high cruising speed. So, we put the cheek pieces back on.

Mark Walsh was confident that he wanted to go a good gallop, he needs a good really strong even gallop and he got that the last time with the cheek pieces on.

We just felt if he was going to be in front, then the cheek pieces would keep him focused and keep him concentrating on the fences in front of him and it appeared that way and he put up a huge performance.

Other notable runners on day two

Western Diego will probably run in the Grand Annual. He ran at the DRF and ran quite well with a penalty.

Hopefully he can run well and give his syndicate of owners a good competitive run.

In the Champion Bumper, we've got five or six in it. Irish Avatar was very impressive when he won at Naas on heavy ground. He won it a long way and put a lot of distance between himself and the other horses.

And the two four-year-olds, Our Trigger and Quiryn are entered. Four-year-olds don't have a wonderful record in the race, I think there's only three have won it. Cue Card was the last from memory.

Both these horses were in training as two-year-olds, so they're different than your normal store-horses that are brought as three-year-olds and brought forward. So, I think they could run a big race too.

It wouldn’t take much for Jade De Grugy to go back hurdling of Lossiemouth heads to the Mares’

A lot will depend on what direction Lossiemouth will take and whether she goes to the Champion Hurdle or not. If she goes for the Mares’, she's coming back obviously as reigning champion, and I think she'd take on the beating.

Jade de Grugy is in there as well, but she's been chasing. But it wouldn't take much for her to switch back if Lossiemouth went the other way.

Kargese is in there, but she'll probably stay in the Arkle.

In the Stayers’, we’ve got Ballyburn who was a little bit disappointing last time out. He ran brilliantly in Fairyhouse in the Hatton’s Grace. I think he can be much better than he did behind Teahupoo in the Christmas Hurdle who looks like he’ll take all the beating. But we’re confident that we can get him better than he was at Christmas.

Narcisco Has was out big hope for the Triumph Hurdle - but we have another runner up our sleeves

Obviously Narciso Has was our big one for the Triumph Hurdle but he's out, so Selma de Vary will probably go. She ran a brilliant race at the DRF when second behind Narciso Has in what was her first run for us after coming from France.

So, she has to be in the mix. And then we've got plenty of maidens and maiden winners. The likes of Charme De Faust and a few of those horses that have run in France but haven't run in Ireland. Apolon De Charnie and Proactif will probably go there now and Macho Man.

The fact that Narciso Has is not running opens up the Triumph hugely but I think these are good horses and ones for the future.

Narcisco Has could be back for the Punchestown Festival

It's just a small thing. There's a chance he could be back from Punchestown hopefully. He obviously looked as though he’d be great at Cheltenham after his two performances at Leopardstown but unfortunately these things happen in horse racing and it probably won't be the last before the Festival starts.

Doctor Steinberg’s form is rock solid ahead of the Albert Bartlett

Doctor Steinberg put up a good performance at the DRF. People said he ran a bit keen but over three miles he won’t have to be ridden so forceful. It was the nature of the race. He'll be fine and he'll get the trip, he's a horse that's improved.

We didn't expect him to reach the levels he has on winter ground. We always thought he might be better on better ground. I think he's just continued to improve and hopefully he'll show a little bit more improvement and put up a good show.

He beat Thedeviluno who franked that form at Doncaster in January. Doctor Steinberg came out a week later and won at Leopardstown, so the form is rock solid.

The yard is strong in the Gold Cup regardless of where Fact To File goes

I suppose a lot will be down to JP and the connections who have got other runners in the race as well don't they. They have Spillane's Tower, Inothewayurthinkin and maybe I Am Maximus as well.

JP, his team and Willie will decide where they want to go but he's obviously the reigning champion from the Ryanair last year and if he runs in the Ryanair, I think he'll take all the beating and if he runs, in the Gold Cup then he's got to prove that he's going to stay three and a quarter miles. It opens up for us he doesn't run.

We've got the likes of Gaelic Warrior and Galopin Des Champs. Whatever happens with Fact To File, the yard is strong in the race anyway.

You can’t rule out the British challenge in this year’s Gold Cup

They’ve all got course form. Jango Baie won the Arkle last year, when it looked like he was going to get lost coming down the hill, which showed his stamina back up it. He's improved hugely for going up in trip.

There wasn’t much between him and The Jukebox Man in a thrilling King George. You wouldn’t imagine there’s going to be a whole pile between them and it's whatever horse turns up well on the day and in the best of form.

You would definitely not rule any of them out. It’ll make the race tactically strong, and we’ll see what way people play their cards.

Haiti Couleurs deserves his chance in the Gold Cup - but could he be better going for the Grand National? Possibly.

Possibly, but I think he deserves to take his chance. He's won well and I think he won there on the course last time out, so you have to give him his chance of winning. He's an Irish National winner as well so staying won't be an issue and it'll make it a true test.

Galopin Des Champs is in good order - he’s been catching the eye at home ahead of the Gold Cup

He's in really good order. I thought he ran brilliant at Christmas but was a fraction disappointing in Dublin the last day, maybe he just had had a hard enough race at Christmas and he wasn't fully ready. But he's been catching the eye in the last couple of days now he's in really good order. I'm going to stick with the tried and trusted Galopin Des Champs. It would be some achievement to come back and win a third.

Constitution Hill is a fabulous horse - it’s disappointing he’s going over the Flat as I’m not sure he will go well on firm Summer ground

It's a bit disappointing really. He has been a fabulous horse. I know he's fallen a couple of times, but those top two mile hurdlers live on the edge don't they, jumping wise, and that's what makes them so brilliant. It's really disappointing that he won't be running over hurdles again.

But Melbourne is not until November! So, you could have easily run him in the Champion Hurdle first, and there’s loads of time after that.

It's sad, but that's the end of a great National Hunt career. The only thing I worry about now if he’s going to race during the summer, will he go on really firm ground? I'm not so sure he will.

We will have roughly the same number of horses coming over for Cheltenham this year as last year

Not quite sure yet. Last year we had 79, so it will be in that ballpark, maybe a few less, possibly 70.

We think we've got some nice horses going and we think they're all in good form. You never expect anything, but you go in hope.

We hope that we have a good team going, and we hope that they're in good order and that they show themselves in a good light.

Willie’s yard was slow to get started this year but the weather played a huge part

We were a bit slow to get started. But the weather has played a huge part in that. I’ve never seen rain like it before.

It’s been so persistent. We have had something like 57 consecutive days of rain registered in Ireland and the last dry day was on December 29! That’s played a huge part.

We'd had two runners in two races last Saturday and another double on Sunday at Naas, plus two seconds.

So, I think they're running well. The horses are in good form. We’ll be ok for Cheltenham.

[The weather] has definitely slowed things down. Obviously when the horses aren't fully wound up and the gallop is really heavy, you don't want to be pushing too many buttons when they're not fully wound and leave half the season behind.

We just try to let them build up and eventually we're hoping that it would stop raining.

Cheltenham has had lot of rain this year, too. But it does drain quite well, so hopefully we'll get a bit of nice ground just on the soft side of good.

What our winners targets are for Cheltenham week

The target is one! And try and get it early if you can, to take a bit of pressure off. You can't go to Cheltenham and expect winners or expect to reach targets.

You go hoping the horses are in good form, you hope they travel well, you hope they take it all in well when they get there and then you hope they run well. After that if they're good enough they'll win and if they're not that's unfortunate.

You can't set a target I don't think. You hope to have one winner anyway to keep the spirits up and then everything after that's a bonus.

We have had a lot of luck in the last few years.

Hopefully we're doing our best to try and keep it going this year and hopefully get more luck this year.

Gordon Elliott has been on fire this year but we will just keep ticking away

Gordon's been on fire out all year and ours were slow to start. We just keep ticking away and we won’t take too much notice of it because you don't want it to cloud your judgement either.

We keep running the horses in the races that we think they can win. And if, at the end of the season, that puts us in front, that's the way it will be.

Harry Cobden replacing Mark Walsh as JP McManus's retained jockey

Harry's a fabulous rider and Mark's a brilliant rider too. But I suppose Mark is coming towards the end of his career and Harry's still a young guy.

Mark's a lot older than Harry and maybe JP was looking towards the future and maybe he wasn't certain how long Mark was going to continue. I’m not sure about that. But he made the decision and he's got a brilliant rider in, and he has a brilliant rider in place at the moment.

It’s just the way life is, and he's not going to be short of opportunities himself. You don't know how often Harry will be in Ireland or out of Ireland, depending on what runners they have elsewhere. So, there will be still plenty of opportunities for Mark, but like in every sport there is progression and that's just the way life is really.

If I could go back in time, this is the one horse I would want to ride at Cheltenham this year

I'd like to ride Majborough. I think that'd be a thrill.

A standout horse to watch aside from Majborough

I'd imagine looking at it, I would think Fact To File or Gaelic Warrior. Whichever one runs in the Ryanair Chase, I think either of those would take a huge amount of beating in that race.

A banker win double from the yard

Fact To File in the Ryanair and Majborough in the Champion Chase.

An each-way treble to back

Quiryn in the Champion Bumper, Apolon de Charnie in the Triumph Hurdle and Galopin Des Champs in the Gold Cup. He's still an each-way price.