Gaucher could provide rare Newcastle winner for Willie Mullins

In what might prove an ominous warning to the rest of the field in the Midnite All-Weather Easter Classic Middle Distance Handicap, Team Mullins are not sending a rare runner to Newcastle in the shape of Gaucher “for the fresh air”.

A Grade Three winner over hurdles, Billy Loughnane’s mount is on a hat-trick on the all-weather after two wins at Dundalk, as he seeks to give Willie Mullins a first win on the Flat at Gosforth Park.

“He has thrived since switching back to the Flat, which probably should not have been a huge surprise given he is by Frankel and out of Group One-winning mare Left Hand,” said Patrick Mullins, assistant to his father.

“A mark of 106 and top-weight in a race like this makes things more difficult, but we think he can be competitive. We are not sending him over for the fresh air anyway!”

An obvious danger is Regal Ulixes for Andrew Balding, who also fields Teumessias Fox.

Balding said: “Regal Ulixes had to squeeze in a third qualifying run following his Lingfield win, which meant backing up quickly in the Lincoln Trial over a trip short of his best.

“It was not ideal, but he still ran a decent race from a poor draw. He is a very talented horse and, provided he relaxes and does everything the right way round, he should be very competitive.

“Teumessias Fox has been tough to place, having gone up in the weights last year, but the handicapper has dropped him a few pounds over the winter. The pick of his form on the all-weather would give him a chance.”

Bragbor is one of the more unexposed members of the field and will be having just his third run since leaving George Scott.

He is now with the new alliance of Richard and Peter Fahey and is their only runner on the card.

Richard Fahey said: “We got the horse qualified not long after we bought him, so we decided to give him a bit of a break. We have been happy with him in the lead up to this. He has some nice pieces of form at the track, although whether he is good enough to win, we will have to see.”

David O’Meara’s Duke’s Command is quite well fancied after a promising run at Wolverhampton last time out. He also runs Zryan, the mount of Hollie Doyle.

“We opted for this race for Duke’s Command rather than the Mile as he had some good form over this trip earlier in the season,” said O’Meara.

“The race last time was steadily run over a shorter trip and turned into a sprint, which probably did not suit him. He has come out of it in good shape and I would be hopeful that he can run a nice race.

“Zryan has form at the track and we thought we’d let him take his chance, given he sneaks in at the bottom of the weights.”

Karl Burke’s Antrim is among the outsiders but runners from his yard should never be written off.

“He is another one of ours who has been out in Dubai over the winter, including when winning on the dirt. He has won a couple of times at Newcastle, so we know he likes the track. He seems really well in himself and I think he is on a nice mark of 95,” said Burke.

Alan King’s Paradias has only Gaucher above him in the weights following a profitable winter, and he said: “He has had a terrific winter and comes here on a career-high mark (103) as a result. Moving back to a mile and a quarter is probably not ideal, although Newcastle is a stiff track. This has been the target for some time and hopefully he can run as well as last year before switching back to the turf.”