Gigginstown armed for assault on Fairyhouse festival

It is 10 years since Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown Stud team first struck Grade 1 gold at Fairyhouse's Winter Festival, and a decade later the Ryanair boss is set to launch a major assault on all three of Sunday's eagerly-anticipated top-flight prizes.

The exciting pair of No More Heroes and Outlander are in contention to line up in the Bar One Drinmore Novice Chase, a €85,000 race that Gigginstown has won in three of the last four years, including with Valseur Lido in 2014.

Paid off

The decision to pay out a €8,000 supplementary fee to get Lieutenant Colonel into last year’s Hatton’s Grace Hurdle paid off in spectacular fashion, and only Nicholls Canyon prevented a Gigginstown clean-sweep of all three Grade 1 races in 2014 as he beat off All Hell Let Loose in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle.

The famous maroon colours will again be a major influence on the first major Grade 1 card of the jumps season in Ireland, with Disko likely to try and plug that Royal Bond gap in O’Leary’s Winter Festival catalogue this time.

“There are a few of ours in there, but I would hope Disko will line up. He will be coming back in trip, but on the softer ground I hope that won’t be a problem,” said O’Leary’s brother and bloodstock adviser, Eddie O’Leary.

“We will have to see if Willie [Mullins] is happy with Outlander, but both he and No More Heroes could run in the Drinmore. And both Alpha Des Obeaux and Petite Parisienne might run in the Hatton’s Grace,” he added.

The complexion of all three races will become clearer after Tuesday’s five-day forfeit stage, but the Gigginstown focus on Grade 1 success makes Sunday’s action hugely significant for one of Ireland’s top owners.

In 2005, Kill Devil Hill was just O’Leary’s second top-class winner when he won the Drinmore. Earlier that year War Of Attrition had won at the Punchestown festival, to give the high-profile businessman a first Grade 1 only three years after his first ever winner.

Since then, Gigginstown’s considerable investment has yielded 53 Grade successes in all, including 32 in Ireland, the last of which was Don Cossack’s JNwine Champion Chase victory at Down Royal.

That was a fifth Grade 1 in 2015, but 2014 was notably successful for O’Leary with nine wins at the top level, including Road To Riches in the Lexus Chase.

He could defend that Lexus crown at Leopardstown next month and Eddie O’Leary said: “Road To Riches and Don Cossack will run at Christmas. One will go to the King George and the other to Leopardstown.”

The Gigginstown Grade 1 tally could have increased prior to the Winter Festival however, as they have again played the supplementary card to get Identity Thief into Saturday’s Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle.

The Henry De Bromhead trained horse was one of two Irish supplementary entries, costing almost €6,400 each, as Willie Mullins added Wicklow Brave to his Fighting Fifth options alongside Arctic Fire. The latter remains a hot favourite in some ante-post lists for the Hatton’s Grace in which Alpha Des Obeaux is an 8-1 third favourite with Paddy Power.

Mullins has left three in Saturday's Hennessy at Newbury, Valseur Lido, Urano and Ballycasey. They are among an entry of 25 for the prestigious handicap, with the Gold Cup hero Coneygree topping the weights.

Coneygree will shoulder 11.12 in the Hennessy and is set to give 9lbs to the Paul Nicholls trained Saphir De Rheu.

Bright Highway in 1980 was officially the last Irish trained winner of the Hennessy, although Mullins scored with Be My Royal, who was first past the post in 2002, but subsequently tested positive for a banned substance.

Quick reappearance

In other Winter Festival news, the 2012 Hatton’s Grace runner-up Monksland could make a quick reappearance in the Drinmore after his successful chasing debut last weekend.

"He jumped great at Gowran, apart from the one mistake. Sean [Flangan] said he just did nothing at that fence but at least he learned from it and jumped well after that. He'll continue swimming and I wouldn't rule out running in the Drinmore next Sunday," said trainer Noel Meade.