Melbourne Cup: Willie Mullins dreaming of bringing Flemington showpiece to Carlow with Vauban and Absurde

A victory for Vauban or Absurde in the Lexus Melbourne Cup would be one of the highlights of Willie Mullins’ career according to the multiple Irish National Hunt champion trainer.

There is hardly a prize in show jumping racing that Mullins has not won, with the County Carlow handler counting three Cheltenham Gold Cups, four Champion Hurdles and two Champion Chases among his 94 Festival winners, plus the Grand National and every amount of the jewels of the Irish season.

However, Mullins believes a victory in the Flemington Group One on November 7 would equal all these achievements.

He said: “When I look at the profile of our stable I don’t think we’re going to win a Breeders’ Cup. The chances of winning an Arc will be high, so for us the type of horse we have would be it probably the biggest race in the world that we could win.”

The Closutton handler recognized the historic nature of such a victory, with County Carlow native George Watson being one of the 25 founding members of the Victoria Racing Club and the starter for the first Melbourne Cup in 1861.

Mullins explained: ‘The man who started it all was just two miles away, George Watson. He left here in 1840, something with a pack of hounds, started the Melbourne Hunt, which in turn founded the racecourse. Melbourne Cup.

“He was the starter for 30 years, he was on the board that started Flemington and the Melbourne Cup, so it would come full circle if we could bring that back to Carlow.”

Mullins is no stranger to Flemington, having sent up Holy Orders for the first time in 2003 to finish a distant 17th behind Makybe Diva.

He has since hit the bar when Max Dynamite finished half-length second in 2015 before returning to finish third two years later, but sees ante-post favorite Vauban and Ebor conqueror Absurde as his best chances yet.

He said: “We are very happy with Vauban and Absurde, both seem very good in Australia and David (Casey, assistant coach) is very happy with the two of them.

“Both horses can handle any terrain I think down there – probably softer ground would suit us better than a lot of Australian or foreign horses. The weather down there, there’s a lot of 30 degree days, but it’s constantly changing. That’s not the case .I think one of our horses is a problem: they can both ride on fast ground.”

Vauban is a three-time Grade 1 winner over the hurdles and made an immediate impact at the level when he ran home seven lengths from Absurde in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot, before taking a cozy Group Three victory in the Ballyroan Stakes.

No Dettori on Absurd; Purton takes the ride

Absurd took advantage of an inspired Frankie Dettori ride to win the Ebor, but the Italian will not be in the plate again as even before he was handed a 16-day ban starting on November 7 for whipping offenses on Champions Day, he would not have been able to make Absurde’s weight of 8st 5lb.

Top Hong Kong jockey and old ally Zac Purton will make the ride instead as Absurde looks to make up the Ascot deficit with his yard’s biggest hope.

Mullins said: “Zac Purton rides Absurde. He came third with Max Dynamite so I know Zac from back in the day and he gave Max Dynamite a fantastic ride that day so we were very happy when he became available. He can do the weight easily – Absurde has a low weight and it is very difficult to get top class jockeys at that weight.”