Willie Mullins: Irish champion trainer gives the lowdown on his French Gold Cup and French Champion Hurdle team | Racing News

Closutton maestro Willie Mullins looks to send a six-strong team to Auteuil for this weekend’s French Gold Cup and French Champion Hurdle, both live on Sky Sports Racing.

The Irish champion trainer’s French travelling party is headlined by two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo, who would become only the third horse to win both the Cheltenham showpiece and French Gold Cup on Sunday with victory in the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.

Klassical Dream looks to have an excellent chance in the French Champion Hurdle (Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil) on Saturday, having got his head back in front at Punchestown last time out.

King George hero Tornado Flyer also lines up in the race, with Mullins chasing a first victory since 2019 when Benie Des Dieux was an emphatic winner.

Mullins spoke to Sky Sports Racing on Thursday to discuss his travelling team for the Auteuil meeting.

French Champion Hurdle – Saturday 4:00

Klassical Dream

“He’s in good shape. When we won the French Champion Hurdle before, it was much later in the season but now they have done a Dublin Racing Festival and brought together the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup meetings.

“Paul [Townend] rides him. The track will suit him and the trip will suit him – as long as travelling doesn’t get the better of him.

“He’s a difficult ride in races. You see that down at the start at Cheltenham and that’s our biggest fear with him.

“I’m told the whole team are eating and drinking well so we’ll school them tomorrow.”

Kemboy

“He likes good ground so if it dries out on the day of the race that’ll suit him and he likes to go forward so that will suit him.

“The favourite [L’autonomie] often doesn’t put her best run in at this meeting but she’ll be forward with him and that will suit Kemboy.

“If he gets an easy lead he’ll take that and if not he’ll be upsides.”

Tornado Flyer

“You just wonder about Tornado Flyer’s form over the years.

“His second and third run seem to be good but he goes off in the spring. We’ve never taken him to France so maybe he’s had his downtime and he’s back again but I’m not sure.

“He certainly doesn’t finish his season out as most of our horses do and Danny [Mullins] will probably do what he did in the King George and hope that they go fast here.

“Until the last half-mile, I imagine he’ll be ninth and try to pick his way through!”

French Gold Cup – Sunday 3:00

Al Boum Photo

“We had him pencilled in for the French Champion Hurdle but I felt you won’t make history unless you take part in it so we said we’d let him take part in the Gold Cup.

“It’s a very difficult task – Guillaume Macaire said the other day the English and Irish style is to jump your fences cleanly whereas in France the object is to brush over them.

“Basically, you lose too much ground if you jump with an English or Irish style so we will have them jump tomorrow with a few French jockeys on board.

“He’s a Gold Cup winner, he’s a relaxed horse. Three miles and five furlongs around here wouldn’t be any problem to him.

“If he can just adjust to his fences, he’s fit and well so we’ll give him his chance to repeat history and be the third horse to win both races!”

Franco De Port

“He’s never fully shown us what he’s shown at home. His rating wouldn’t suggest that he should be here but we are taking a chance.

“It’ll probably be his last run of the summer, he’s French-bred so he’s jumped plenty of these fences before coming over here.

“We put him in there hoping rather than expecting. He’ll be ridden for sixth or seventh but the races can fall apart.

“If he could run well here, he might come back for the next Auteuil meeting.”

Burrows Saint

“He’s been good but to me he hasn’t put in a run this year as good as he was last year.

“We got a wind operation done on him but I wasn’t sure it was a success, they aren’t all successful.

“He was fifth in this race a few years ago in 2019 but with maturity you’d hope he would better that form, however his form this year doesn’t suggest that.

“It’s €41,000 for fifth and we’ll take that!”