Willie Mullins column: Boxing Day runners

Kempton

13:55 Lossiemouth

She’ll have her work cut out in the Christmas Hurdle but goes there with a good run under her belt when winning the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse. This is a small but select field and if Constitution Hill is back to his best, he’ll be a very tough nut to crack.

However, he won’t have run for a full year and we and the other two horses in the race have the benefit of recent runs. Her fillies’ allowance will be a help, I think she’ll handle the track and it’s a nice prize and worth a crack. Paul Townend has elected to skip Leopardstown to go to ride over there to ride her.

Leopardstown

12:00 Kawaboomga

We think he’s a very nice addition to the team by a Polish horse called Tunis who is making a name for himself in France. This fellow was placed in a hurdle at Auteuil in March and that experience will be a big asset for him coming into this.

12:00 Kopek Des Bordes

With Paul at Kempton, Patrick takes the ride on him. He’s by top jumping sire No Risk At All and looks a really nice type. We’ve been keeping him for Christmas and look forward to getting him started over hurdles.

12:00 Zillow

Danny [Mullins] rides him. He ran very keen on his first start for us at Punchestown and will have to improve a lot on that form on Thursday. I do think the ground here will give him a chance though.

12:35 Redemption Day

A Grade One bumper winner and a course winner too so he has Leopardstown form. He’s a horse that will command a lot of respect. Patrick loves him and has elected to ride, and he’ll love the ground too.

12:35 Joueur Masque

He’ll improve for his last run at Navan and his form in France is fine but Redemption Day’s Grade One bumper form is likely to be ahead of him.

I think we’ve a very good hand in the O'Driscolls Irish Whiskey Juvenile Hurdle, but we don’t really know where they sit in the rankings ourselves at the moment. It will be a learning curve for us to see where these horses fit in.

13:10 Sony Bill

You’d have to say with his two wins in France that he’d look a lovely prospect. His form and experience should be a huge help to him.

13:10 Willy De Houelle

A change of tactics from Fairyhouse will see a lot of improvement in him. He has every chance.

13:10 Lady Vega Allen

Her form in France is very good. She’s by Saint Des Saints out of a Robin Des Champs mare and closely related to Quevega. She is one coming from that pedigree that would hide her light under a bushel at home and we’re very interested to see how she compares to the form horses.

13:10 Murcia

A lovely addition to the yard by Dr Dino out of a Poliglote more so she doesn’t lack on the pedigree side. She brings very good form from France, and I’d hate to be trying to pick a winner. It’s going to be very informative for us in what looks a very hot race.

13:45 Johnny Blue

Had a nice run in Cork and coming back to two miles I think will bring about improvement. He’ll be a lot sharper and is one I think it’s worth having a look at.

15:30 Green Splendour

A nice horse who shaped well at Newbury in a bumper for the Crawfords last season. It will be interesting to see how he goes but you never know what you’re up against in a race like this.

Limerick

12:25 Lincoln Du Seuil

He has a nice bit of form in France and is a nice type going into this race. We’ll be disappointed if he isn’t there or thereabouts.

12:58 Karamoja

This mare ran a very good race on her first start for us down at Clonmel where it appeared she was doing too much right from the start. That experience might just settle her down and it’s a nice level of form to bring into this race and we’d be hoping she goes very close.

13:33 Mister Pink

They’re giving the ground as yielding to soft at Limerick and I’d be hoping it’s more yielding for this fellow. He’s very ground dependant and it’s going to be tough for him. If he got in the first three, we’d be very pleased.

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.