Danny Mullins: Solness 'can give Jonbon something to think about' in Champion Chase
The jockey looks ahead to the Cheltenham Festival
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Danny Mullins celebrates his win on Solness at the Dublin Racing Festival
If I were to get onboard at Cheltenham, I think he [Solness] would have a great chance.
Danny Mullins is relishing his latest tilt at entering the Cheltenham Festival winners' enclosure and believes Solness can give Jonbon 'something to think about' in the Champion Chase, writes Phil Campbell.
The 32-year-old recently won aboard the Joseph O’Brien-trained horse in February’s Ladbrokes Dublin Chase at Leopardstown and identified the horse as the one he wants to ride at the Festival.
He does not yet know if he will be granted that opportunity, however, but will be ready to pounce if so.
“I would love to ride Solness, but it is probably JJ Slevin’s bride,” he said.
“He [Slevin] has a retainer with (owners) Simon Munir and Isaac Souede in the double green and there is a possibility that JJ is taken up with that.
Solness! Oh my goodness! 😮
— Leopardstown RC (@LeopardstownRC) February 2, 2025
It's an incredible Grade One win in the @Ladbrokes Dublin Chase for @dan2231 and @JosephOBrien2 #DublinRacingFestivalpic.twitter.com/ppAgDa0xvF
"That would open the door for me to ride Solness, but it is far from guaranteed that I will be riding him.
“If I were to get onboard at Cheltenham, I think he [Solness] would have a great chance.
"He was well behind Jonbon in the [Betfair] Tingle Creek [Chase] at Sandown but what we learned from the horse that day has probably been the key to his recent success.
"With his new tactics, I think he could give Jonbon something to think about in the Champion Chase.”
The Kilkenny native is awaiting news of exactly which rides he will pick up at Prestbury Park as he looks to rekindle the feeling of walking back up the famous chute aboard a winner.
Mullins won back-to-back Stayers' Hurdles on Flooring Porter in 2021 and 2022 but has hit the crossbar on several occasions since, with two runners-up finishes in each of the last two Triumph Hurdles, on Karaese and Gala Marceau, along with three third places.
Looking ahead to this year, he said: “I would be hopeful I will have a few rides every day.
“It is case more of wait and see rather than knowing what I am going to be riding. I will just prepare for everything and hope for the best.
“You never know at Cheltenham. I will be going there in good shape and all my homework will be done.
“It will be a case of hoping that all the owners, trainers and stable staff have all their bits together and I am just hoping I can add the finishing touches to try and get the winners.
“Winning on Flooring Porter during the lockdown Cheltenham (in 2021) was a special moment for me.
“There was nobody there, but it did not take anything away. That is the moment that always sticks out [in my career].
“It is a great buzz when the crowd is there. It allows the owners and all racing fans to be a part of it. It would be great to repeat that this year.”