Patrick Mullins will reunite with Gaelic Warrior in Saturday’s Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown (3.30).
The 8-year-old is capable of putting real heat on stablemate Galopin Des Champs as he chases a fourth consecutive renewal.
Galopin Des Champs, ridden by Paul Townend, heads the betting in a record 13-runner field and a win would draw him level with Florida Pearl’s four Irish Gold Cups. But Gaelic Warrior brings a profile that reads like a warning label: five Grade 1s, a John Durkan Chase win over Fact To File in November, and a short-head defeat in the King George at Kempton behind The Jukebox Man and Banbridge.
Mullins has been aboard for two of those top-level strikes — at Limerick as a novice chaser in 2023 and when Gaelic Warrior powered through the Bowl over 3m1f at Aintree last April — and the jockey made clear how much the reunion means. “I’m delighted to get back on him and we’ve had some great days together,” he said. “I ride him out as well and know him well.”
Mullins’ not hiding from ‘patchy’ record
The tactical question is whether Gaelic Warrior can deliver that raw engine at Leopardstown. It’s a track where he has yet to win in three chase starts. Mullins didn’t dress it up, calling the record “a little bit patchy”. But he pointed to evidence the horse can still travel and compete there. He referenced a Leopardstown Christmas run over two miles when he split Marine Nationale and Solness.
Conditions look set to demand stamina and composure, and Mullins insisted soft ground will not blunt the horse’s action. “I don’t think soft ground bothers him at all… I won on him at Aintree on good ground. It won’t be any issue,” he said.
What Mullins does need is Gaelic Warrior to drop his head and breathe, not grab the bridle and try to bully his way through the early fractions. “He’s a horse that has such strength, but since he’s had the hood on I think it’s made him a lot more tractable,” he said, before adding the caveat every punter understands: “As you saw in the John Durkan, if he wants to do something, he’s going to do it.”