Nap of the Day: It’s Mullins in the bumper

I've got everything crossed that Fairyhouse passes inspection on Saturday morning, for my Nap of the Day goes in the bumper at the County Meath venue and confidence is high about his chances.

I was pleasantly surprised to see RUNCOK open 11/4 for the bumper at Fairyhouse on Saturday, for I expected him to be significantly shorter.

Willie Mullins' runners, especially in this sphere, are often underpriced, but I think the opposite has happened here.

The five-year-old son of Cokoriko fetched €65k as a store in June 2023 and 10 months later was highly-tried in the Goffs Defender Bumper at the Punchestown Festival on his racecourse debut.

It was an ambitious plan that didn't go at all to script, as he finished 14th of 25, a whopping 35 lengths adrift of the winner. According to Patrick Mullins via Sporting Life, he "got very wound up" before the race and "did himself no favours".

Looking back, I was surprised to see his SP was 4/1. Only two of his rivals, including stablemate King Rasko Grey who was the choice of Patrick, went off shorter. Clearly, he must have been showing a fair bit at home to be so popular in such a lucrative contest on the back of zero experience.

He was put away after and reappeared at Tramore in late November, finishing just under seven lengths behind stablemate Sortudo - runner-up in a hot race at Leopardstown over Christmas - in third.

I thought he shaped a good bit better than that margin suggests. He looked to be given too much to do from an unlikely position round a famously tight track, but made eye-catching headway in the latter stages of the race, finishing as strong as anything in the field.

This was also at a time when Mullins' runners were needing the run, so improvement can be expected for a number of reasons. Patrick taking over in the plate is another one.

Most of the selection's eight rivals are running on the level for the first time, including Gordon Elliott and Robcour's €100k buy Skylight Hustle. He was a late addition to the yard, however, so I suspect it'll be very much a case of 'whatever he does in bumpers is a bonus'.

Gavin Cromwell's De Temps En Temps is interesting. He went straight from a PTP to a maiden hurdle and gave a good account of himself in defeat, but now reverts to bumpers. I suspect, with it being quite late in the season, that's to maintain his novice status for next season.

Alfa Charlie I fear as much as anything. He's Elliott's second-string on jockey bookings, with seven-pound claimer Josh Williamson on board, but he's beautifully-bred and Josh is worth every bit of his claim, so I'll be watching him very closely in the market.

But Runcok has form in the book, is race-fit and there's a strong case for serious improvement. He could go off a lot shorter than 11/4.

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