Willie Mullins and his Under the Radar Hurdlers
- Hare Tortoise
- Mar 8, 2025
- 4 min read
Looking through the entries for the Supreme and Turners Novice Hurdles next week, it is interesting to note there are 5 Willie Mullins trained horses who all won their Maidens last time out by at least 9 lengths, and with varying degrees of ease. These runners seem to be flying under the radar and all have good chances of hitting the frame, at the very least. In recent years, Mullins has had runners such as Asian Master, Jimmy Du Seuil, and Diverge run big races at big prices at the festival, off the back of wide-margin Maiden successes. The 5 horses in question for this year are Funiculi Funicula, Irancy, Kappa Jy Pyke, Karbau and Kiss Will. I'll look at the form of their Maiden wins below, and discuss their chances for next week.
Irancy is the most exposed out of the 5, and shortest price for next week. He is also the only one who has just 1 remaining entry - that being the Supreme. Owned by JP McManus, he made 1 start in Ireland last season, finishing 3rd and 12 lengths behind Firefox, in a hot Maiden that also featured Ballyburn. He stepped forward in November, winning comfortably at Punchestown from Will The Wise, who is now rated 123. See time comparison of winners on that card below. It was a race where they went a steady gallop, but he quickened smartly under minimal effort, and was 4 lengths quicker from the last to the line than any other runner on the day. It was likely a performance in the high 130s, with potential for much more. He is clearly a horse who has had a few issues, but Willie Mullins has already described him as a 'Grade 1 horse' and current odds of around 14/1 for the Supreme seem about right.
Funiculi Funicula won the same Maiden Hurdle won by Jimmy Du Seuil last year at Clonmel. He was pushed out to win by 17 lengths from Hitak, in a strongly run race, where they came home at wide margins. The bare form and time comparisons with other winners on the card do not look especially strong however, being slightly behind the Mare Grainne A Chroi, who is rated around 115. Funicula Funiculi is likely to find Cheltenham a big step up in class. According to the trainer, he is likely to run in the Supreme.
Karbau disappointed slightly on his stable debut, finishing 4th in a Maiden at Naas in December on Good ground. He then stepped forwards well at Punchestown at the end of January, winning by a very easy 17 lengths on Heavy ground, a race won by Diverge in 2023. He jumped very well in that race and travelled strongly. The time comparisons with other Hurdle winners on the card look good, with 124 rated The Great Nudie coming closest, but she was still a comparative 8 lengths behind, in a more evenly run race. Karbau has won a bumper on Good to Soft in France, so I would not be concerned about handling the faster ground at Cheltenham. Given a bit more improvement, he looks to have a good chance of making the frame. He could go for either race at Cheltenham. Bookmakers pricing looks quite defensive, relative to current exchange odds, so it might be worth waiting until declarations before getting involved. He would definitely be one for the shortlist, however.
Kappa Jy Pyke was second on stable debut, before winning his Maiden at Punchestown in January, on the Moscow Flyer card. He ended up winning by a comfortable 17 lengths, but second favourite Don'tstopthemusic unfortunately fell at the last, when potentially coming to challenge. The bare form looks ok, but time comparisons with the Moscow Flyer, won by Salvator Mundi, shown below, are very interesting. Kappa Jy Pyke recorded a marginally better overall time and an almost identical final 2 furlong time, despite being asked for very little extra effort. Notably, Salvador Mundi, was also pushed along from about 3 furlongs out. Salvador Mundi is clearly highly regarded, and did enough wrong, but it was a fairly considerably stronger performance from Kappa Jy Pyke. As with Karbau, he could go for either race at Cheltenham, but he would be another one to consider at a big price once declarations are confirmed.
Kiss Will has just had one start for the stable, a very easy success at Fairyhouse. His jumping was generally ok, apart from a blunder at the last and he was able to dictate at a reasonably steady pace. The time of his win was also only ok, despite being worthy of a considerable upgrade, as he was not asked for much of an extra effort. He is, of course, open to huge amounts of improvement, but going off the form shown, he will likely need it to make the frame at Cheltenham.
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