Fact To File cut to 7-2 for next year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup after dominant win for Willie Mullins

Willie Mullins moved one short of a century of Cheltenham Festival winners when Fact To File landed the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase. He was cut to 7-2 for next year’s Gold Cup after his impressive success.

Settled in fifth of the six runners for most of the 3m½f contest by Mark Walsh, Fact To File cruised in between Sandor Clegane and Monty’s Star approaching the second last before pulling clear of the latter after the final fence.

Fact To File provided Mullins with his second Grade 1 winner of the day, after Ballyburn’s success in the opening Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle, and his 99th festival winner overall.

Six of those winners have been in the Brown Advisory, including Florida Pearl, who followed up his 1997 Champion Bumper success with victory in this race the following season.

Mullins’ decision to skip hurdling with Fact To File, as he did with Florida Pearl, was vindicated as he recorded his third win from four starts over fences.

Stamina was the main question mark over the odds-on favourite, with 2m5½ the furthest trip Fact To File had previously encountered when he beat Tuesday’s Arkle winner Gaelic Warrior at last month’s Dublin Racing Festival.

However, the seven-year-old brushed aside any of those concerns when beating Monty’s Star by three and three-quarters of a length, with Giovinco outrunning odds of 40-1 to finish third for Lucinda Russell. Last year’s Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle winner Stay Away Fay disappointed in his bid for back-to-back Grade 1 festival wins and was pulled up by Harry Cobden.

“This is a class horse, he’s something else,” Walsh told ITV racing after riding his first festival winner of the week. “He jumped and travelled so well. I didn’t want to get there too soon because he was stepping up in trip but he winged the last and just galloped on from there.”

Fact To File was a second festival winner of the week for JP McManus after Corbetts Cross in the National Hunt Chase, and his impressive success sparked dreams of a first Gold Cup win for the owner since Synchronised in 2012. 

“I was nervous,“ said McManus. “He was on his toes a little bit beforehand. Mark did a great job to get him settled. I’m just so relieved.

“It’s all in front of him. Willie decided to go straight chasing with him and I had no objection to it, it sounded good to me and it’s vindicated.”

Read these next:

‘Wow, what a performance’ – magnificent Ballyburn leads home 1-2-3-4-5 for Willie Mullins in Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle 

Sir Gino will run says Nicky Henderson as Jonbon and Shishkin among big names taken out amid fears over health of string 

Do you want £1,000+ in free bets for the 2024 Cheltenham Festival? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.