In March last year, immediately after Melbourne Cup favourite Vauban won the JCB Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham, champion Irish trainer Willie Mullins admitted he had “unfinished business in Australia”.
but had to fall back on the “he’ll be right on the night” philosophy as the reluctant horse stood his ground. “When we look at those horses that we buy off the flat in France that is always in the back of our mind because we’re buying horses that stay.” He has met every request with a wry smile and a quip, despite boarding the plane at Dubai en route to Melbourne so tired he joked to others that he did not even have a drink on the flight. His preference was to sleep.
The chestnut with the white fleck next to his eye then extends before exploding into a powerful gallop that blows the thoroughbred’s hair back, stunning track watchers sitting in a tired old Werribee grandstand blinking into the rising sun. Those out at Werribee say he then returned to the barn barely puffing.
“ is tough and he is strong and what has really impressed me this year is how quickly he recovers from his gallops and his races. He just puts on weight, his appetite is huge, and he just does all the right things.”. He is also guaranteed to deliver a quip with efficiency, reserving one on Monday to express his concern at the forecast of 30 degrees on Cup day.