Blue Lord and Facile Vega recorded Grade One wins at Leopardstown for Willie Mullins on an afternoon when the perennial champion trainer saddled a six-timer at the Dublin circuit.
Mullins said: "It's been an extraordinary day. Our planning department at home deserves all the credit for this, putting the horses in the right races and having them right.
"Between David Casey, Ruby (Walsh) and Patrick picking out different horses for different races and then just getting ready for the race, it’s a huge team effort.
"Ben Delmar, who is our head travelling man, getting them all right. Getting the right numbers on the right horses in the Paddy Power is a feat in itself.
"I have to thank everyone, especially owners as without them we wouldn’t be here. A huge thanks to them for having faith in us to have days like this."
How many winners today, Willie?#LRCChristmas pic.twitter.com/1CVt8S18FU
— Leopardstown RC (@LeopardstownRC) December 27, 2022
Blue Lord emerged as a potential threat to Queen Mother Champion Chase-winning stablemate Energumene following an impressive success in the Paddy's Rewards Club Chase at Leopardstown.
The seven-year-old was in the top rank of novice chasers last season for Mullins, with Grade One wins at Leopardstown and Punchestown sandwiching a third place in the Arkle at Cheltenham.
Having made a successful reappearance in last month’s Clonmel Oil Chase, Blue Lord dropped in trip and stepped up in class for this Grade One contest and was the 2-1 second-favourite behind his top-class stablemate and multiple Leopardstown winner Chacun Pour Soi.
The two-mile-one-furlong contest was run at such a pace that Chacun Pour Soi, who will officially turn in 11 in a few days, appeared to be struggling to go the gallop.
He managed to get himself into contention approaching the second fence from home, but a bad mistake put him on the back foot once more and he ultimately had to make do with minor honours in third.
Blue Lord on the other hand travelled strongly throughout under Daryl Jacob and after battling his way to the front early in the home straight, he powered 11 lengths clear of Captain Guinness.
No stopping Blue Lord 🥇
— Leopardstown RC (@LeopardstownRC) December 27, 2022
A strong finish under @Dazjacob10 secures a fifth @PaddyPower Rewards Club Chase for @WillieMullinsNH 🏆#LRCChristmas | @pphorseracing pic.twitter.com/kSwucLbp0L
Mullins said: "That was very smart, I thought they'd go too fast for him here and they did go fast.
"I was looking at two and a half miles for him this year, but it looks like he could be a Champion Chase horse after that performance. Certainly the dial is coming back to two miles now rather than going out to two and a half. It just means he’s improving.
"I haven’t thought about where he goes but I’m sure there is a programme there for those two-mile horses."
Of Chacun Pour Soi, he added: "I was absolutely delighted with him – he started to put in some tremendous jumps down the back.
"He just met the second-last all wrong and it knocked him out of the race at a crucial time, but I was very heartened by his performance.
"Maybe he just needs to go out a bit longer in trip at his age. Paul was very pleased with how he was going, but he made the mistake and it cost him whatever chance he had."
Mullins was once again fulsome in his praise of Facile Vega (2-9F) after seeing his star youngster stamp his class on the Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle.
The outstanding performer in the bumper sphere last season with wins at the Dublin Racing Festival, the Cheltenham Festival and the Punchestown Festival, the five-year-old made a smooth transition to the jumping game at Fairyhouse earlier in the month.
Returning to Grade One level, the son of Walk In The Park and six-time Cheltenham Festival heroine Quevega never looked like losing his unbeaten record.
After initially taking a lead from Il Etait Temps, Facile Vega almost jumped into the back of his stablemate at the first hurdle and was subsequently allowed to stride on in front.
Il Etait Temps hung in there and tried to throw down a renewed challenge from the home turn, but Facile Vega was in full command as he passed the post with four lengths in hand. Ashroe Diamond stayed on from the rear to make it a Mullins one-two-three.
When asked to give his star youngster a mark out of 10, Mullins said: "I'd nearly have to give him 11 and a half, I think!
"Plan A obviously went out the window after the first hurdle. Thankfully Il Etait Temps didn’t bring him down, Paul said he was very close to it because he absolutely winged the hurdle.
"Then he had no lead and had to go and make his own running. He did it well, he got very free at the first hurdle down the back and took some jump at it. I was delighted to see that but I knew he couldn’t keep that up.
"Paul got him back, got him into a slower rhythm and got him jumping better. He said he was still racing in his hands the whole way but he eventually settled for him.
"I think he’ll learn an awful lot today. The big crowd and all the buzz before the race itself, all that will be a help for him in the future."
Dysart Dynamo (2-5F) threw his hat into the Arkle ring with a foot-perfect display in the Paddy Power "From The Horse's Mouth Podcast" Beginners Chase.
A brilliant winner of last season’s Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle, the Mullins-trained six-year-old subsequently fell three from home when still travelling well in the Supreme at Cheltenham.
He failed to fire on his final outing of the campaign at the Punchestown Festival, but was nevertheless a warm order to make a successful reappearance and chasing debut.
Those who took the cramped odds will have had few concerns, with the keen-going gelding quickly pulling clear of his rivals and jumping accurately in front throughout in the hands of Townend.
With his chief rival Slip Of The Tongue an early faller, Dysart Dynamo rounded the home turn with a massive lead and skipped over the final fence to seal a 28-length success over Irascible.
Mullins said: "He was pretty fast over the first couple of fences but then he settled into a rhythm. He threw in a huge jump at the first ditch down the back, but then Paul seemed to pull him back and get him into a better rhythm – he measured and jumped his fences from there on home without any problems.
"He is what you see – he gallops and jumps. He does that at home and the few times I’ve brought him away to school he’s done the same thing. He just gets out there and loves jumping and galloping.
"I think he’s settled a lot better over fences than he did over hurdles. That’s what I took from the first time I saw him schooling on grass. He really looks at his fences and takes notice of them, he wasn’t taking any notice of hurdles. That will be a big plus with him in the future.
"If you were going to draw a chaser, he’s the one you’d like."
The champion trainer claimed the opening Paddy Power "I Have No Idea What Day It Is" 3-Y-O Maiden Hurdle with the promising Tekao (10-11F).
Beaten into third place when odds-on for his Irish debut at Navan last month, the French recruit rewarded those who kept the faith with a cosy half-length success over Ascending under Mark Walsh.
"He took a keen hold but Mark said he was travelling well all the time. He was happy that he had come on from his last run so we’re very pleased with him," said Mullins.
"He’ll have to step up in class. We’ll see what way this race works out but any time you win a three-year-old maiden around Leopardstown, it’s usually a good sign."
Winter Fog (11-2) made a successful debut for the yard in the in the Paddy Power 'Je Suis Une Baguette' Handicap Hurdle under 7lb claimer Kieran Callaghan.
Mullins said: "Winter Fog did it nicely and Kieran is a good young rider, a cool kid and he deserves a lot of credit. He rides a lot of work on this horse at home."
The concluding "Paddy Power Flat One" INH Flat Race went the way of Fact To File (8-13F) as Mullins completed a 101.9-1 six-timer, with the final winner on the card saddled by the trainer's son, Patrick.
Of his feat, Mullins said: "It's been an extraordinary day. Our planning department at home deserves all the credit for this, putting the horses in the right races and having them right.
"Between David Casey, Ruby (Walsh) and Patrick picking out different horses for different races and then just getting ready for the race, it’s a huge team effort.
"Ben Delmar, who is our head travelling man, getting them all right. Getting the right numbers on the right horses in the Paddy Power is a feat in itself.
"I have to thank everyone, especially owners as without them we wouldn’t be here. A huge thanks to them for having faith in us to have days like this."
The only race on the card that did not go to the Mullins team was the €200,000 Paddy Power Chase, although it was won by a former Closutton inmate in Real Steel (33-1).
Sixth in the 2020 Cheltenham Gold Cup, the nine-year-old subsequently moved to Britain to join Paul Nicholls before being bought by Eric McNamara earlier this year for £27,000.
The nine-year-old had just enough in the tank to repel the late thrust of Diol Ker by a short head, with the trainer's son Conor the winning rider.
