Patrick Mullins gives update on Cheltenham Festival winner ‘a little ahead of the others’

It is a very exciting time of year at Closutton

All roads lead to the Tingle Creek in December for Champion Chase winner Il Etait Temps, according to Patrick Mullins.

The Jukebox Jury gelding defeated Jonbon by nine lengths in the Sandown contest last year before going on to win the day two feature at the Cheltenham Festival as he bounced back from a fall in the Clarence House inbetween.

Mullins, who is assistant trainer to his father Willie, says the plan is to once again start Il Etait Temps’ season in the Clonmel Oil Chase on November 5 before heading to the Tingle Creek a month later.

“You know Willie, he likes to keep them to the same sort of programme as before so Il Etait Temps is a little ahead of the others, maybe to go to Clonmel and on to the Tingle Creek,” he told Sky Sports Racing.

“Clonmel with the ground lost a meeting last week so that’s going to be a question mark, but he could be ready for the Tingle Creek all being well and the others are all back in.

“The John Durkan, the Morgiana… they’re still six weeks away.”

The leading amateur jockey was speaking after ticking another UK racecourse off his list of tracks to ride a winner at on Wednesday. He partnered 8/15 favourite Whitewinewednesday to victory in a handicap hurdle over 2m4f at Sedgefield, although it wasn’t all plain sailing.

“It was never in doubt!” Mullins said on the winner.

“No-one wanted to go on, we ended up in front, and it turned into a sprint. I couldn’t stick on the rail as she was lugging a bit left and I didn’t trust her not to just to duck left. The second horse came up our inside and I was always going to get to him but the last and the second last we just lost ground. But she’s been schooling over fences because she runs over fences on Thursday.

“It was great she won. She’s no star but she might win another one maybe.”

Source: irishmirror.ie