King Rasko Grey hands Mullins record-extending eighth Turners win

king rasko grey repaid faith after a near-miss at the Dublin Racing Festival by powering to victory in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, giving Willie Mullins his record-extending eighth success in the race and delivering Paul Townend his 40th Festival winner. The win underscored a change in form and trip that altered the shape of this season’s novice-hurdle picture.

King Rasko Grey at Cheltenham

King Rasko Grey was sent off at 11-1 and, having been third in a blanket finish at the Dublin Racing Festival behind Talk The Talk and Ballyfad, thrived for the step up in trip at Prestbury Park to come home two and a half lengths clear of Nicky Henderson’s Act Of Innocence. The pattern suggests the extra distance and the Cheltenham hill played to his strengths: the two and a half lengths winning margin is a concrete signal that King Rasko Grey improved on his Leopardstown performance rather than merely regaining prior form.

Willie Mullins’s Turners record

Willie Mullins now has eight wins in the Turners Novices’ Hurdle, and this victory came from one of six Closutton contenders in the race. The context—Mullins’s large team and the 22-runner field—means this outcome confirms the trainer’s depth at the festival; the figures point to a sustained advantage in having multiple viable candidates, with King Rasko Grey emerging as the stable’s top hope in this renewal.

Paul Townend’s Festival milestone

Paul Townend’s choice to ride King Rasko Grey delivered his 40th Festival winner and gave owner Audrey Turley a welcome result after Galopin Des Champs was ruled out of the Gold Cup. The sequence of facts—Townend’s milestone, Galopin Des Champs’ absence and the owner’s need for a boost—suggests this Turners success carried emotional as well as sporting value for the connections and helped offset the blow of a high-profile withdrawal from the Gold Cup.

Leopardstown form and rival performances

At Leopardstown, King Rasko Grey finished a short head and half a length behind rivals in a memorable three-way finish, and Mullins remarked that the horse’s condition at Leopardstown had suggested further improvement. The pattern suggests that the near-miss at the Dublin Racing Festival, combined with his earlier Limerick win on deep ground and Mullins’s view that he had been “right up their tails, ” indicated the horse had been working for his living and was primed to progress when stepped up in trip.

For now, the specific open question left by the context is whether King Rasko Grey will be campaigned again at Grade One level before another Cheltenham Festival appearance; the articles do not name a confirmed next target that will resolve that question. If connections opt for further Grade One engagements, the two and a half lengths winning margin at Cheltenham suggests he could be competitive at the highest level.