Willie Mullins looks likely to seal the trainers’ title once again with a typically strong team heading to the Punchestown Festival which gets underway on Tuesday.

Mullins trails Gordon Elliott by €154,000 in the race to be champion trainer, he is fancied to take home enough of the €3.6 million in prize money on offer throughout the five days, to secure his 20th trainers’ championship.

Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File go head-to-head in a potentially thrilling duel in the Punchestown Gold Cup on Wednesday, while Champion Chase winner Il Etait Temps will attempt to follow up on his March victory in Tuesday’s showpiece.

Here’s what Mullins thinks of his chances for the week ahead:

LADBROKES PUNCHESTOWN GOLD CUP

Both GAELIC WARRIOR and FACT TO FILE are in good shape and it should be a fascinating race again, over a longer trip compared to the John Durkan.

Fact To File didn’t run in Cheltenham so that’s going to be a huge advantage to him I’d say.

The National didn’t work out for GRANGECLARE WEST or CHAMP KIELY and they have been left in for now as well.

WILLIAM HILL CHAMPION CHASE

IL ETAIT TEMPS, MAJBOROUGH and ENERGUMENE have done their final bits of work and I am very happy with them.

Il Etait Temps has come out of Cheltenham very well.

I think we still have to find the right way to get Majborough right. He’s not a finished product yet.

We’ve got to ask ourselves, ‘Does he need a longer trip?’ I don’t know. There’s certain days he looks fantastic, and other days he doesn’t. We haven’t got the finished product yet.

At this point in time, Energumene will run.

The weather forecast wouldn’t be great for him (as he needs soft going) but if the ground is safe for him, he’ll run. And they’re past masters at getting safe ground in Punchestown.

BOODLES CHAMPION HURDLE

LOSSIEMOUTH has come out of Cheltenham fine and we are looking forward to her being back at Punchestown, where she has a great record.

ANZADAM is another horse, like Il Etait Temps, that’s been difficult to ride in the early stage of his career, so I’m hoping we get a better handle on him next week. Maybe he’s a horse that needs to go over fences and that might make him easier to handle.

It’s been tough for PONIROS and it always is at his age, coming out of a juvenile campaign. I’m not expecting anything from him this week and am waiting more for next season for him when he matures. EL FABIOLO and ABSURDE are also still in the mix.

LADBROKES CHAMPION STAYERS’ HURDLE

I’m not sure what way we’re going to go in the Stayers’. Teahupoo will be hard to beat, whatever we run.

We have four left in it: ABSURDE, JIMMY DU SEUIL, KAWABOOMGA and JADE DE GRUGY.

We’re looking at an end-of-season experiment to see have we got one good enough for a staying hurdle campaign next year.

NOVICE HURDLERS

I’m hoping they’ll all rock up again.

Some of them showed well at Cheltenham, some were disappointing.

LEADER D’ALLIER (PRL Champion Novice Hurdle) is a nice horse but I don’t think we’ve got anything like the best out of him yet. His homework would suggest he’s a lot better than his finishing position at Fairyhouse, though he won his maiden well at Punchestown in January.

It was fantastic to get a winning bracket at Cheltenham for KING RASKO GREY, and I’m not decided yet which direction I’m going to go with him, but it would look more like the Alanna Homes Champion Novice Hurdle over two and a half miles, than the PRL Champion Novice Hurdle over two.

DOCTOR STEINBERG obviously is very good over a trip, but we’ve got to get the tactics right. He was way too free in Cheltenham.

KITZBUHEL was brilliant in Cheltenham but there won’t be a rematch with FINAL DEMAND in the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase. I just wasn’t happy with him (yesterday) morning. He’s a big unit and I’d rather have him fresh for next season.

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