AFTER another dominant Cheltenham Festival, Willie Mullins is taking aim at further history.
Mullins reached 100 Festival winners this month with the likes of Galopin Des Champs, Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File.
His domination has no signs of slowing down and rising star Ballyburn is being aimed at a double that many think is impossible to complete.
Dawn Run is the only horse in the history of the sport to win both the two-mile Champion Hurdle and the stamina-sapping Gold Cup over fences.
She won the Champion Hurdle in 1984 and toughed it out to win the Gold Cup just two years later.
Few horses have ever attempted to emulate Dawn Run, with Nicky Henderson even thinking better of it with Constitution Hill.
Ballyburn looked the real deal in the Gallaghers Novices’ Hurdle and Mullins’ six-year-old, who has won over a variety of distances already in his short career, could be aimed at the incredible feat.
Mullins told Racing Post: “You have to look for the right horse who could do it, and it struck me that he would fit the bill in my book. He might be the right horse to try and do it with.
“If he happens to be lucky enough to win a Champion Hurdle, and that will be tough, he could do it because he looks like a real chasing model. He’s a horse who you could attempt it with.
“I never dreamt he could be a Champion Hurdle horse until I saw what he could do the other day, but he looks more of a chaser than a hurdler. He might just be the horse to try it with.”
Ballyburn is a best-price 10-1 for next year’s Champion Hurdle but is a general 7-1 across the board.
Constitution Hill, who sensationally missed Cheltenham due to illness, is the uneasy 2-1 favourite.
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