Mullins Warns Cheltenham Over Festival Ground

Willie Mullins says owners may turn to Aintree and Punchestown unless Cheltenham provides softer festival ground...

By Puntrr Editorial

Willie Mullins has warned Cheltenham that some of jump racing's best horses could bypass the Festival unless the course produces softer ground in March. The Irish champion trainer made the comments on Wednesday 11 November 2026 at his Closutton base in County Carlow, two days before Cheltenham's three-day November Meeting began, and the racecourse responded on Thursday 12 November.

Mullins claimed that a number of his runners suffered "a lot of damage" on the final two days of this year's Festival because the track had not been watered properly. He added that a growing number of his owners are looking towards Aintree and Punchestown instead.

What Mullins said at Closutton

The trainer was speaking after welcoming media to Closutton to launch his National Hunt season. He said he was "a bit worried" about the preparation of the ground and argued that the Festival has to cater for horses that have been campaigned on soft ground all winter.

His central point was a simple one. If Cheltenham wants those horses to appear, he said, it has to produce ground that suits them. He went on to say that people with really good horses would not go there, and that if the trend continued, "we're going to change."

Mullins suggested the shift may already be under way, saying that more of his owners are heading towards Aintree or Punchestown. He specifically mentioned that two of his owners, Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, are not especially keen on going to Cheltenham. He also referred to JP McManus's decision to take out Fact To File, last season's Ryanair Chase favourite, who was a significant non-runner at the Festival in March.

The context is the ground at the 2026 Festival, which Mullins criticised at the time. Fact To File was the only one of his 15 runners that day to be withdrawn, and the trainer said then that he had been promised watering and was not sure it had been done. Cheltenham's clerk of the course, Jon Pullin, said at the time that selective watering had taken place to maintain a going description of good, good to soft in places.

Cheltenham's response

Cheltenham defended its approach on Thursday. Pullin said that different horses will always be suited to different going conditions and that it is impossible to find ground that benefits every horse in training. He added that the course's focus and responsibility has always been on producing safe jumping ground for all participants.

That reply does not engage directly with the claim about watering, and it does not address the question of whether the going should lean softer in March. It does, however, set out the course's stated priority: safety first, with suitability for any particular type of horse a secondary consideration. Whether that position satisfies the biggest owners is the question Mullins has put on the table.

It is worth being clear about what has and has not been established. Mullins's statements about damage to his horses are his own claims, and no independent veterinary or course data has been published in the material we have seen to support or contradict them. Likewise, the suggestion that owners are moving towards other spring festivals is the trainer's assessment rather than a confirmed change in any named horse's plans.

The ground this weekend

The timing gives the row an immediate backdrop. The November Meeting started on Friday 13 November, with the Paddy Power Gold Cup the Saturday feature and the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle closing the meeting on Sunday. Ground has been a live issue all week.

On Wednesday, Pullin said conditions had improved after 6mm of rain overnight, taking the total to 16mm since the Showcase meeting, with irrigation continuing. The going had been described as good, good to firm in places the previous morning and had eased to good, good to soft in places. The two-and-a-half-mile chute, which has been quicker, is being brought back into play and was described as good ground, with the good to soft mainly down the back straight.

Pullin also flagged that freezing overnight temperatures forecast for Thursday and Friday could hamper further watering, with a possible window from Saturday into Sunday. No rain was expected during the meeting.

Ground concerns have already affected two of the big handicaps. The participation of Dan Skelton's Madara, who had headed the Paddy Power Gold Cup betting before drifting to 8-1, was in doubt, with Meetmebythesea replacing him as favourite. Harry Fry was keen for some cut in the ground for Idaho Sun, whose long-awaited return in the Greatwood could be delayed further.

Why it matters beyond one trainer

Mullins is the most successful trainer in Cheltenham Festival history, and he sends a large share of the leading contenders each March. Any real reduction in his Festival team would change the shape of the championship races, and the market for them, long before the meeting in March.

His comments also sit in a wider pattern. The previous Festival's ground drew criticism at the time, and Cheltenham's November meeting has again been shaped by weather and irrigation. This autumn has also seen a run of cancellations at other jumps tracks because of dry ground, so ground preparation is a sensitive subject across British racing.

In the same Closutton session, Mullins also voiced a separate criticism of the disciplinary rules. He cited Rossa Ryan's suspension for easing up on Thunder Home at Sandown in July, initially 28 days and reduced to ten on appeal, as an example of riders being punished too harshly. He said the rules had "gone overboard" and that stewards are not given enough discretion. That is the trainer's view and no response from the regulator was included in the material reviewed.

The next test is practical. Cheltenham's watering plans for March, and any decision to publish more detail about how the track is prepared, will be watched closely by trainers and owners in Ireland. For now, the course has stated its priorities and the trainer has stated his. The Festival is in March 2027, and the debate over the going looks set to run until then.

Written by Puntrr Editorial