Willie Mullins floats exciting Cheltenham Festival target for Flat star Vauban

Willie Mullins will consider an exciting Cheltenham Festival target for his top Flat horse Vauban next year.

The champion jumps trainer of both Britain and Ireland has just returned back from another to for the Melbourne Cup.

Mullins had hoped he could finally pull off his first win in the ‘race that stops a nation’ with one of his two runners.

Vauban and Absurde ran in the race at Flemington 12 months ago where Vauban finished 14th as the 9-2 favourite and Absurde seventh.

However they only marginally improved their finishing places last Tuesday with Vauban 11th and Absurde, fifth.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Both are set to return to Ireland this week with Mullins yet to decide on their future programmes.

Vauban, winner of the Triumph Hurdle in 2022, has not run over jumps since he finished second to State Man in the 2023 Paddy Power Champion Hurdle at Punchestown.

Instead he has developed into a top notch Flat stayer, with wins in the Ascot Stakes and up to Group 2 level in the Lonsdale Cup at York.

Mullins, reflecting on his trip in an interview with RacingTV, said: “The Melbourne Cup is always good. I often think it’s one of the best racing meetings in the .

“A four day festival which gives you a day or two to recover after each day which can be important. If people haven’t been down there it should be on every racing person’s bucket list.”

Vauban is unlikely to make another trip back with the horse appearing to enjoy the trip, Mullins said.

“The weather was 25 or 26C on the day and we thought that should be okay but he just doesn’t seem to travel down there,” he said.

“Absurde ran great. The two of them more or less trained the same. I don’t think he’ll go back down. Absurde will go back down next year. With a clear run he’d have been a top three finisher.

“We will look at going to Saudi. There is nice race meeting there with some very good prize-money. They are due to travel back on Wednesday so between now and Tuesday we’ll have to decide.

“With Vauban would you go for the Stayers’ Hurdle or something like that. I think that would be a possibility if Rich wants to do that or stay on the Flat and go to Saudi.

“He probably wasn’t good enough to win the Champion Hurdle and didn’t jump well enough but going half a mile an hour slower over an extended trip might suit him better and he’d be a class horse in that division.”