Willie Mullins fan favourite back in Cheltenham Festival mix after ending three year drought

Monkfish had not won since landing the second of two Festival victories in March 2021 but entered Stayers’ Hurdle contention after netting the Galmoy Hurdle

One of the most popular horses in Willie Mullins’s stable is back in the mix for the 2024 Cheltenham Festival.

Monkfish was one of the most exciting young recruits to the champion trainer’s yard when he wss bought for £235,000 in 2018. He won three of his first four races over hurdles, climaxing with victory in the 2020 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.

The following season he made an unbeaten start to chasing and secured his second Cheltenham Festival success when capturing the 2021 Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at odds of 1-4.

After suffering defeat at Punchestown the following month, he raced only twice more until returning to action in the John Mulhard Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park on Thursday with a five and a half length victory.

The win was so popular with fans that Monkfish was trending on social media platform X.

“Monkfish is back and I’m bawling,” said one post. “What a horse. It’s been a long time coming with all of his injuries. Incredible training performance. I can’t put into words how much I adore him.”

The ten-year-old is entered in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, for which he was cut to 20-1 from 50-1 by Ladbrokes, and is also in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Ladbrokes’ Nicola McGeady said: “Monkfish is a horse punters have always loved so it was fantastic to see him back to winning ways for the first time since 2021.”

Mullins's son Patrick said options would be kept open but hinted there may be a last minute decision on his Festival target.

“He hasn’t missed any training (this season), we just hadn’t got him out, so we were happy his fitness would hold up,” he said.

“We thought he was a Gold Cup horse once upon a time, but that is a great start to his season and hopefully he can build on it now.

“We were supposed to start him at Tramore on New Year’s Day but he got a little bang, so we decided to wait for this.

“He is in the Gold Cup and Stayers’ Hurdle but all options are open and it will be a case of what race suits, when he is ready.

“We won’t rush him back and Cheltenham is only seven weeks away, so he’ll probably go straight there. The decision regarding which race he runs in will be a Willie special.

“Ruth Dudfield does a fantastic job in keeping him sound and we’ll just hope he is OK in the morning. Touch wood, at his age, he will stand up to it."