Willie Mullins Stable Tour: 'It’s shaping up to be a very hot King George' Niall Tierney gets the latest on the star team at Closutton as Willie Mullins outlines plans for his big guns. Il Etait Temps I'm trying to get him ready for Tingle Creek which is not a race that I normally go for, but he performed so well in Sandown, in the Celebration Chase, I felt it would be an opportunity missed. So he came in a little earlier and we might try and run him in the Clonmel Oil Chase if we can if the ground is nice. Otherwise I'm going to have to go without a run... that's what really intrigued me about his performance in the Celebration Chase - that we didn't have a run. He was off for a long while before that and going over there I was hoping that he might be fit enough to get in the first four or five and gain some prize money. Then we see the performance that he gave on the day to me and it was a huge performance beating Jonbon If that form is proper form, which we'll find out to him this season, he's going to be a great addition to our top chasing ranks. Anzadam Anzadam looks to have enough potential to go for the Champion Hurdle. Everything has been good for him. He has the ability, has the engine that sometimes his training schedule will get interrupted with little breaks and if I can get a clear run through to him, I think we're looking maybe at going for the Fighting Fifth with him, because Anzadam and State Man are both owned by Joe Donnelly. Rather than have the two of them in the Morgiana, let's look at another option...that might be another little bit of a change in the season that we haven't done for a while. Fact To File JP has the Gold Cup winner, so he may want to keep the Gold Cup winner and Fact To File apart. I think he'd be well up to running in the King George and Gaelic Warrior I am planning to go down that route with - it’s shaping up to be a very hot King George! Ballyburn Ballyburn doesn't seem to have enjoyed his time over fences and I've brought him in early and I've done a lot of ground work with him, more than we would have done other times in a good preparation, to get him good and strong for the season. I think he will be better served by going back over hurdles. I imagine at the moment I'm keen to go down the staying hurdle route. We know he jumps the hurdles fairly well and he stays three miles. So I think it's the way he should go. Galopin Des Champs Same again with him this season, he will hopefully hit all his targets - John Durkan, Christmas, Dublin Racing Festival, Cheltenham. We have touched on whether he should have one race less (due to his age) but he put up a very good performance in Punchestown last season. At the moment it is not part of the plan to have a race less. Lossiemouth I think the Hatton’s Grace will be the first race and then she'll tell us how she is. She'd look a hot order for the Mares’ Hurdle again this year. State Man He was just very unlucky in Cheltenham last year. He showed every one of us what Paul has been telling me about him. He had no doubt in his mind that he was all going to ride State Man. Even if she pitched up in the Champion he just put State Man away ahead of her which probably was hard to see on the evidence of State Man's runs. State Man is older and a lazier horse and he obviously was only doing half what he's able to do until we changed tack on him and then it brought out a huge improvement. He will go down the similar path again. Morgiana Hurdle as the starting point and and we'll have him fitter for the race at Christmas. Nick Rockett He's quite entitled to be entered in the Gold Cup and he will be entered in it. However, looking at the way he's such a natural around Aintree, you're going to have to have a look at that and we will give him a run or two to start off and then see how he is. Do we think he's improved? Can he carry the extra weight in the Grand National or should we have a crack in the Gold Cup? Down Royal is just a bit early for him and you'd have to say the John Durkan, but I'm just wondering should we look at a few of those English races. We could have six or seven horses in that race and should we divide them up a bit.
