Majborough will put it all together one day, says Mullins

Willie Mullins admitted Majborough is “making life hard for himself” after his old jumping issues returned to ensure he suffered an odds-on defeat in the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham.

Sent off at 5-6 after dazzling from the front at the Dublin Racing Festival, Mark Walsh set out to repeat the dose aboard Majborough and at one stage looked to have his rivals standing still in comparison.

However, an error five out was soon followed by another juddering one that allowed his rivals back into the contest and left Majborough squandering as he fell back through the field.

The master of Closutton – who would go one to win the race with second-favourite Il Etait Temps – was left wondering whether a step up in trip is required for his former Triumph Hurdle winner, whose jumping also let him down when sent off favourite for the Arkle 12 months ago.

Mullins said: “He was going so well at home, but then when he made that first little error and then the second one… he’s making life hard for himself.

“At those three or four fences down the back he jumped the first one great, the second one all right and then at the third one he just took off before Mark wanted and I said ‘this is not going good’. He got steadily worse from there to the third-last and that was him gone.

“I think he’ll put the whole thing together one day and win a big one, unless we have to go out in trip.

“He can certainly gallop and he can certainly jump, but it does fall apart, and maybe he needs to go that extra half-mile – maybe he could be a Ryanair horse.”

Cathy Williams was left wondering if things could have been different on soft ground after Libberty Hunter once again showed his fondness for Prestbury Park.

“We’re delighted with him, he’s been in good form coming here and we’ve a great team at home,” said Williams, who has taken over the training licence from husband Evan, after he was convicted of assaulting a dog walker who was on his land late at night.

“We could have done with it softer today, but it wasn’t and he’s run a stormer. He loves Cheltenham and that hill and he needs it, with softer ground he would have been bang there.”

Libberty Hunter’s jockey Sean Bowen added: “I nearly came off him at the first which has fairly woken him up. He picked his feet up after that, he’s a strong stayer at that trip and loves Cheltenham for whatever reason. He’s a good horse on his day.

“He hated that ground so I would love a go on him on real soft ground. He’s a Grade One horse on his day.”

Meanwhile, Dan Skelton consoled himself with the fact he stretched his lead at the head of the trainers’ championship after having no complaints with the performance of his L’Eau Du Sud in third.

Skelton said: “We’ve no excuses, he’s run a blinder. The race probably changed in complexion twice given what happened to Majborough.

“We were up there, where we wanted to be tracking into the straight and ready to take over and then there was one better who took over completely.

“The horse that beat us at Sandown has beaten us again and probably softened us up for second.

“I say if we had ridden him negatively he might have finished second, but also fair play to the Williams team.

“I said beforehand there would be no excuses and there isn’t, he’s ran really really well.

“He will go to Aintree and that there puts us over the British record for prize-money.”