New owners for ‘extremely exciting’ Willie Mullins two-year-old

Team Valor International and Gary Barber are excited to break new ground with their first horse trained by the all-conquering Willie Mullins.

The top owners, who tasted Kentucky Derby glory with Animal Kingdom in 2011, are no strangers to success across the globe, but it is the action in Ireland that will have their focus when new recruit Thread Of Gold next takes to the track.

Although trained by the exceptional jumps trainer of his generation, the two-year-old is very much a tantalising prospect for the level judged on the nature of his taking debut at the Curragh last month, with his new connections relishing their association with the master of Closutton.

“He’s an extremely exciting horse and I think the only reason we were able to get him was because of the timing and because he is a gelding,” explained Team Valor CEO, Barry Irwin.

“My partner Gary Barber and I will buy geldings when a lot of people won’t and he’s a sort of lighter-bodied athletic type, not a heavy horse and because of that the Hong Kong people shied away from him which opened the door for us to go and buy him.

“The fact he is trained by Willie Mullins just adds another layer of excitement to the whole picture. We’re familiar with staying horses, but Willie would be the first dedicated National Hunt-type trainer we’ve worked with, so it should be interesting

“For me and my partners the most exciting thing with this horse is the journey and where it will take us. We don’t know where that will be yet and I don’t think Willie does either.”

Having excelled over seven furlongs when making his winning start, the question remains over which distance Thread Of Gold’s future lies.

In the more immediate though, it is a step up to Group Three company for Leopardstown’s Eyrefield Stakes in late October that has been mooted for the youngster’s next outing.

“His pedigree is a mix of speed and stamina, so it’s hard to say looking at his pedigree where he might be best,” continued Irwin.

“He won easy as could be over seven furlongs, so if Willie said he wanted to go a mile or even nine furlongs, I wouldn’t be shocked.

“I don’t think he will be a miler next year, I think he’s going to run further than that. There’s a lot of stamina in there and this guy knows how to train horses who run over longer distances.”