Willie Mullins Moves Mighty Park From Turners to Supreme Novices' Hurdle

Willie Mullins has moved Mighty Park off the Turners Novices' Hurdle and into the opening Skybet Supreme Novices' Hurdle on Tuesday, a late change that Racing Post analysts said surprised many and reshaped the betting and tactical landscape for both races. Racing Post reported on 5 March 2026 that Mullins “finalised the target” and that the five-year-old owned by JP McManus is set to take on Old Park Star, El Cairos and most probably Talk The Talk in what the paper called a “clash of four of the most exciting young horses at the meeting.”

Mighty Park’s résumé is starkly simple: a five-year-old son of Walk In The Park who bolted up on hurdling debut at Fairyhouse in January, winning a maiden by 38 lengths and beating 15 rivals. Mullins’ stable-tour assessment captured the scale of that performance: “He has to be a hell of a horse to do what he did.” The Irish Mirror noted the same 38-length success and ran a wider comparison — “Winning by 38 lengths like he did the other day puts you into Faugheen-type territory. From day one I thought he was good enough to win a Champion Bumper with what he was showing me at home.” That Mirror copy accompanies the report that Mullins and owner JP McManus have taken the decision to run in the Supreme.

The market reacted immediately. The Irish Mirror cited William Hill moving Mighty Park to 7-2 as second favourite for the Supreme, down from 8-1, and Racing Post’s analysts emphasised that the late switch altered how both the Supreme and the Turners now project tactically. Racing Post specifically named Old Park Star and El Cairos alongside Mighty Park and listed Talk The Talk as the most probable fourth member of that leading group in the Supreme preview.

Mighty Park’s absence was already visible on the Turners confirmation sheets. The Mirror reported he “was not among the confirmations for the Turners on Thursday, having been withdrawn by his trainer,” a removal that opens the Turners market and forces rival trainers to recalibrate entries and race plans.

The British challenge to the Supreme has taken a hit elsewhere. Harry Fry confirmed on X that Idaho Sun will miss Cheltenham after a hind limb lameness issue, posting: “Idaho Sun will unfortunately miss the Supreme Novices' Hurdle at Cheltenham next week due to a hind limb lameness that requires further diagnosis.” The six-year-old, unbeaten in three starts since switching to hurdling and fresh from a Grade 1 Aintree Boxing Day success, had been priced 12-1 for the Supreme and was described by the Mirror as a significant blow to the British contingent, leaving Nicky Henderson’s Old Park Star as the British spearhead.

Mullins’ wider festival hand remains deep. The Racing Post Brown Advisory Novices' Chase entry list highlights multiple Mullins runners — Argento Boy, Final Demand, Gold Dancer, Joystick, Kaid d’Authie, Kitzbuhel, Predators Gold, Saint Baco, Sober, Sortudo and Too Bossy For Us among them — underlining that Mighty Park’s switch is part of a broader Mullins festival blueprint rather than an isolated move.

RacingTV’s fragment of coverage began “While Willie Mullins ponders running plans for his crack team of novice hurdlers at the Cheltenham Festival, Mighty Park has drawn” but the supplied copy ended mid-sentence. For now the concrete consequences are clear: Mighty Park’s late declaration for the Supreme makes the opening race more combustible, elevates JP McManus and Mullins’ high-profile entry into immediate market contention, and forces recalculations in the Turners and across trainers’ festival plans as Cheltenham approaches on Tuesday.