It’s something we never want to see, but an inevitable part of the jumps season, and that’s news of injuries as we come back and start getting going with the action.
The 2025/26 jumps season will begin this weekend with the newly created three-day Welsh racing festival.
But over the Irish Sea, at the stables of racing’s dominant force, Willie Mullins, there was some sad news alongside his updates across a variety of horses.
Davy Crockett is the horse in question, one of many exciting novices at Closutton, but it was confirmed that he would be out until the spring due to a setback. Before the news, he was the favourite for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the 2026 festival.
This obviously casts a doubt over his short-term future, in an important season as a novice hurdler, though hopefully it’s nothing to affect him in the long term.
It comes just two weeks after he was successful at Listowel during their Harvest Festival meeting. There was talk of going to a grade one next time out, which now won’t happen.
Doubts Over Early Supreme Novice Hurdle Favourite
Heading into the new season, although the market is wide open and full of unknowns for the Supreme, there was a market leader, and it was Davy Crockett.
But you have to say his participation is now in doubt. He’s out until the spring, a very wide-ranging answer at the moment, especially when all three major racing festivals take place in the spring.
Will he make either of Cheltenham, the Grand National or Punchestown? In that order, right now at least, they’re going from least likely to make it to most likely to make it. If he’s not back until the spring, he’s either going to need to be ahead of the curve with recovery, run in February and go to Cheltenham after that one run, or he’ll likely miss, as it would be a big ask going after a lay off.
There’s a chance the other two could happen, but given his likely lack of experience, I’d say he’s more likely to be held back before going into top grade action, if he gets there at all this season, so that he’s got a run under his belt before going to the top level.
So for me, that means likely staying at home, getting a run in the spring, and then rounding off his season with the Punchestown Festival in May, if he’s good enough, of course.
Hopefully I’m wrong, and we do get to see him at Cheltenham or Aintree, but I’m not holding my breath.
After winning at Listowel, he was left at 12/1 in the Supreme market, which saw him head the way with most firms.
Speaking after the race, Mullins said
“He jumped so slick for a horse having just his second run over hurdles,”
“He missed the last all right, but he was so slick at some of the other hurdles and is obviously taking after his mother.”
“He looks sharp, and I can see him improving for the rest of the season, and hopefully he can go up in grade.”
Of course, a son of Annie Power, he’s got lofty expectations on him, from breeding alone, and as Mullins said in the interview, he is a very slick jumper, just like she way.
It’s a sad part of the racing season that injuries come to the stars. Hopefully, Davy Crockett can get back to full strength and go to the top of the game, whether that’s this season or next.