Daddy Long Legs

And conditions matter enormously with this horse. On fast, dry ground he is a different animal entirely. From just 3 races on wet or muddy ground he has won twice — a 67% win rate on the face of it — but Mullins himself has been candid that soft winter ground doesn't bring out the best in him. On quick ground at Tipperary, assistant trainer David Casey noted he looked "in a different league", and Mullins went as far as suggesting the horse has enough raw pace that he could go back to flat racing. That's a striking thing to say about a jumper, and it tells you something about the engine underneath.

His partnership with Paul Townend is worth noting. The champion jockey has ridden him 7 times and won on 3 of those occasions — that's 43%, or nearly 1 in every 2, which for any combination at this level is a meaningful number. When Townend is booked, Daddy Long Legs tends to run like a horse with a plan.

He opened his career account at Thurles in November 2023 and most recently won at Ballinrobe just this week — so he arrives in this profile in the middle of a live season rather than winding one down. The yard he comes from is operating at remarkable levels right now, with 220 winners sent out this season alone. That's not a background detail — it means Mullins is not running this horse for the sake of it. Every decision is deliberate.

The honest assessment from his own team is that Daddy Long Legs is probably operating just below the very top tier of Grade 1 company, though they've been clear that's the level he's now pointed at. Whether he gets there depends on the ground being right. Find him a flat track, quick underfoot, and Paul Townend in the saddle — and he becomes a very interesting proposition.