LEOPARDSTOWN REPORT:AS "C" words go, Cheltenham is usually a favourite racing one, but even after Hurricane Fly's resounding success in yesterday's BHP Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown, trainer Willie Mullins was noticeably loath to ponder the festival too deeply.
Considering injury has prevented Ireland’s top hurdler from making Cheltenham in both 2009 and 2010, a reluctance to tempt fate by the champion trainer is understandable.
And after Hurricane Fly beat his old rival Solwhit by three-and- a-half lengths in the €110,000 feature, Mullins revealed pre-race anxiety about a heel problem with the horse had made him considerably less confident about the outcome than the winner’s 4 to 9 odds might have indicated.
But the reality is a third Grade One defeat of Solwhit this season left nobody much the wiser about how Hurricane Fly is likely to shape up against the best of the cross-sea hopes, including title-holder Binocular.
Most bookmakers left their Cheltenham odds unchanged after yesterday’s race, and queries to Mullins about how his star will perform against Binocular Co were met with a blunt: “I don’t know.”
So much was stating the obvious, as nobody can really know due to a noticeable absence of substantial cross-sea formlines this season. Significantly though, the style of Hurricane Fly’s victory was again flawless, and he also put in a good time for a race in which stable-companion Thousand Stars cut a true pace.
The fascination of the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham will be how form consisting of consecutive defeats of Solwhit measures up against the rest when the heat is really turned on.
What won’t be in doubt is Hurricane Fly’s appetite for a fight, as Mullins’ judgment that adrenaline would come to his aid yesterday was justified with a vengeance.
“He cut a heel here the last day, a little bit of a flesh wound, and we think it has been bothering him. He worked during the week and I felt it was average enough work. Paul (Townend) felt he was feeling it,” Mullins said.
“The surface on our gallop would come up to his heel, but grass doesn’t, and we were hoping adrenaline would kick in during the race and he’d forget about it,” he added.
“It’s our first Irish Champion Hurdle so I’m going to enjoy it.”
There was certainly no lack of enthusiasm about the way Hurricane Fly pulled away from Solwhit after the last flight, beating him by the longest distance he has managed in five clashes.
Solwhit’s trainer, Charles Byrnes, said: “It was great to see a properly run race and our fella ran up to his best. He just wasn’t good enough. It’s unlikely he’ll go for the Champion. He’s in the World Hurdle, but we’ll probably concentrate on Aintree.”
Mullins and Townend had earlier scored another impressive victory as Day Of A Lifetime made a winning debut over flights in the maiden hurdle to earn 14 to 1 quotes for the Supreme and the Neptune Hurdles at Cheltenham.
“His jumping was solid but not really fast enough. He blew it at Cheltenham last year in the bumper, but we always thought he was a good horse,” Mullins said.
The champion trainer was out of luck in the Frank Ward Solicitors Arkle Chase, however, as Flat Out made a dreadful mistake at the second-last and lost rider Emmett Mullins.
That allowed the finish turn into a family affair as Realt Dubh, owned by Derek Sharkey, just got the better of Noble Prince, owned by his father, Des, in a titanic struggle from the last.
Realt Dubh was completing back-to-back Grade One1 victories and is now as low as 14 to 1 for the Arkle at Cheltenham.
“I don’t know what would have happened if the other fella hadn’t fallen, but our horse stuck to his guns well and jumped brilliant,” trainer Noel Meade said.
Andrew McNamara had to throw out pre-race plans on Hidden Cyclone in the Grade Two Synergy Novice Hurdle and the jockey grabbed the initiative with almost a circuit to go. Ballyhaunis tried to overhaul the leader in the straight but came up two lengths short.
Winning trainer John “Shark” Hanlon wasn’t overly enthusiastic about discussing Cheltenham either, and admitted: “I wouldn’t be disappointed if he didn’t go this year. He’s still a big baby and a chaser in the making. He’ll be entered for the two-and-a-half but I wouldn’t be worried if he missed it.”
It was a different story from Hanlon, however, after Mart Lane’s winning debut in the bumper, and Western Leader’s full brother is as low as 14 to 1 for the Festival Bumper in March.
“I thought he would be more impressive. I think he is a Cheltenham horse,” the trainer said.
By the Figures . . .
Yesterday’s Leopardstown crowd of 7,030 was up over 200 on the corresponding day in 2010 and there was also a significant increase in Tote turnover from €240,637 to €490,277. Over €240,000 of that was due to money bet into the pool from France. Bookmaker turnover was down, though, from €863,404 in 2010 to €785,275.
