El Fabiolo is already a Cheltenham Festival winner in his career but he is now very much trying to rescale the heights he once promised after a stuttering period in his career.
He won the Arkle at Cheltenham in 2023 before being pulled when hot favourite for the Queen Mother Champion Chase a year later.
The Willie Mullins-trained inmate is now on a recovery mission after successive losses since that Cotswolds disappointment in March 2024.
Name: El Fabiolo |
Age: 8 |
Weight: 11st 12lb |
Trainer: Willie Mullins |
Winnings: £456,523 |
Cheltenham Festival wins: 1 |
El Fabiolo race stats
Runs | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
13 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
El Fabiolo Age
El Fabiolo is an eight-year-old gelding. He made his debut in France aged three in a Flat maiden in August 2020 before joining current connections in November 2021.
El Fabiolo Weight
El Fabiolo is expected to line-up in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, where he will carry 11st 12lb in the Grade 1 two-miler.
El Fabiolo Record
El Fabiolo has won eight of the 13 races he has contested in his career. After two starts in his native France, he won on New Year's Day in 2022 at Tramore on debut for Mullins and his new owners, easily bagging a maiden hurdle.
He was then pitched into the Grade 1 Top Novices' Hurdle at Aintree that spring, where he gave Jonbon a mighty scare as that rival managed to go one better having been beaten by Constitution Hill in the Supreme at Cheltenham.
El Fabiolo signed off his novice season by winning at Punchestown three weeks later.
He was unbeaten as a novice over fences in 2022/23, winning Grade 1s at the Dublin Racing Festival, Cheltenham and Punchestown. In the Arkle at Cheltenham, he gained revenge on Jonbon, beating Nicky Henderson's star by over five-lengths.
Wins at Cork in the Hilly Way and the Dublin Chase at the DRF ensured he returned to Cheltenham in 2024 still unbeaten over fences and as the 2/9 fav to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
He was never moving with fluency and Paul Townend pulled him up after a sprawling mistake at the fifth fence almost left them on the floor.
On his next start at Sandown in the bet365 Celebration Chase, El Fabiolo was second to old foe Jonbon.
He was not spotted for 281 days after that, making his return in the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown on 2nd February where he fell at the second fence.
El Fabiolo Next Race
Given that he got no further than the second fence in that Dublin Chase, connections may look for another start before Cheltenham, with the Red Mills Chase at Gowran Park a possible option.
El Fabiolo Owner and Cost
El Fabiolo is owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, who are known for their "Double Green" team.
The pair have won over £5,000,000 in prize money over the years with stars like El Fabiolo, Bristol De Mai, Blue Lord and Impaire Et Passe starring.
El Fabiolo Trainer
Legendary Irish handler Willie Mullins trains El Fabiolo and his record at the Cheltenham Festival is the envy of the racing world.
He is the most successful trainer in the history of the Festival and recorded his 100th winner at the Cheltenham showpiece in 2024, with his tally now standing at 103.
El Fabiolo Official Rating
El Fabiolo raced off a mark of 174 in the Dublin Chase at Leopardstown in February 2025. His peak Racing Post Racing (RPR) was 178 in winning the same contest in 2024.
El Fabiolo Prize Money
El Fabiolo has won £456,523 in prize money in his career to date. His biggest payday was £98,472 for winning the Arkle at Cheltenham in 2023.
El Fabiolo News
Ahead of his seasonal comeback in the Dublin Chase, trainer Mullins had cautioned that El Fabiolo might need the run.
He didn't get beyond the second fence, so any cobwebs will still need to be blown away before Cheltenham, leaving the Closutton maestro to seek a race quite fast for him.
Assistant trainer Patrick Mullins told Racing TV the fall might prove no bad thing in the long run.
"I'm hoping, a bit like Galopin Des Champs (when he unseated at Cheltenham), it might teach him," he said.
"He didn't fall at Cheltenham (last season), he just made a bad mistake and was pulled up. He might pick up his feet next time."
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