Thursday was a miserable day at the races for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend, for the most part as a result of the loss of Nichols Canyon in the Christmas Hurdle but also because Yorkhill’s run in the Christmas Chase – he was the last of eight finishers – strongly suggested that he will not be the horse to give Mullins a long overdue first success in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Djakadam, who has finished second in two of the past three Gold Cups, also has questions to answer after being pulled up in the same race, while Bacardys, the odds-on favourite for the concluding novice chase, was also a faller.
All in all, an afternoon to forget for Ireland’s champion trainer, and he will take nothing for granted ahead of the final day at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting on Friday, when Faugheen, the 2015 Champion Hurdle winner, will set off at prohibitive odds in the Grade One Ryanair Hurdle.
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