In his first column for GG, our Irish expert Donal Murphy looks back on a busy week of action across the Irish Sea, where he picks out his one to watch, rider to follow and much more.
The Week That Was
The first Grade 1 of the season certainly lived up to expectations, with the evergreen Envoi Allen fending off King George winner Hewick in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday.
Registering an unprecedented ninth win at the highest level, the Henry de Bromhead-trained victor looked as good as ever despite his advancing years.
With race fitness on his side, Hewick once again showed admirable battling qualities under Jordan Gainford, with the Betfair Chase at Haydock now on the agenda for Shark Hanlon’s stable star.
On a side note, Gainford later picked up a nine-day ban for using his whip with excessive frequency.
Weak in the market late on, Gordon Elliott’s Gerri Colombe was a well-beaten third and had no apparent excuses.
This two-day fixture at Down Royal is generally targeted by Elliott and from 23-runners, he claimed eight of the 14 races down for decision.
Some of his winners faced little in the manner of meaningful opposition, with Willie Mullins-trained representatives thin on the ground.
The Yellow Clay, Romeo Coolio and Classical Creek all passed straightforward tasks, with the likes of Firefox and Found A Fifty overcoming trickier assignments.
Firefox jumped well and made the perfect start over fences when seeing off the gallant effort of Mossy Fen Park in a beginners chase, while Arkle runner-up Found A Fifty gave weight all around in a Grade 2 contest, beating Galway Plate victor Pinkerton into second.
Twice successful at the highest level last season, Found A Fifty could now be aimed at the John Durkan at Punchestown, with the Ryanair at Cheltenham a likely long term target.
Donal Murphy’s 10 To Follow For 2024/25 Jumps Season
Our new Irish columnist for the 2024/25 National Hunt season is Donal Murphy, who will be talking all things Irish Jumps throughout the campaign in ‘The Irish Angle’. Before he kicks off that weekly column, Donal has put together his 10 To Follow for the new season and there’s some eye-catching runners to etch into…
Mon 04 Nov 2024Brighterdaysahead was probably the highlight of Elliott’s eight, with the highly regarded five-year-old claiming Friday’s feature, the Grade 3 Bottlegreen Hurdle.
The Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham was later mooted as a possible long-term target, but considering she failed to justify odds-on favouritism in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Prestbury Park in March, the opening day highlight appears an ambitious aim.
With Speculatrix taken out due to a stone bruise, Elliott had no representative in the Irish EBF Feathard Lady Mares Novice Hurdle.
The progressive Philip Dempsey-trained Sansrisk claimed this Grade 3 prize, with easy-to-back favourite Savante very disappointing.
Kala Conti was another for the Cullentra handler, exploiting what looked a lenient initial mark of 130 in the valuable Eventsec Handicap Hurdle.
Successful in Grade 2 company last season, this Robcour-owned four-year-old looks capable of adding to her tally in the coming months.
At Cork on Sunday, the performance of Gorgeous Tom in the Grade 3 Paddy Power Betting Irish EBF Novice Chase was quite taking.
A smart hurdler last term and successful at the Punchestown Festival in May, he looks destined for even greater things over the larger obstacles.
Trained by Henry de Bromhead, he comfortably accounted for a quality field at Cork, with the Grade 1 Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse in early December now on the agenda for the Champs Elysees six-year-old.
Looking back into last week, de Bromhead registered a brace on his birthday at Wexford on Monday, with both Heart Wood and Inthepocket impressing.
The former comfortably beat National Hunt Chase winner Corbetts Cross and Buddy One in the season feature at Bettyville Park, and on this evidence he looks to have improved from last year.
In truth, this was a tough ask for Corbetts Cross giving plenty of weight to the winner, but he still performed with credit to fill the runner-up spot on what was his seasonal debut.
With both successful at the highest level over flights, the beginners chase looked a match between Inthepocket and Farren Glory.
However, it proved a rather one-sided affair, with Inthepocket producing a flawless performance to beat his aforementioned rival by 15-lengths.
WHAT’S COMING UP
There’s just four National Hunt fixtures scheduled for the upcoming week, with action taking place at Fairyhouse this afternoon, Clonmel Thursday, Gowran Saturday and Naas on Sunday.
The Clonmel Oil Chase is the season highlight at the Co Tipperary venue, with four-time Grade 1 winner Fakir D’oudairies, the Willie Mullins-trained Saint Sam and Gordon Elliott’s Fil D’or among six declared.
Once an eagerly anticipated contest, with the likes of Beef Of Salmon, Edredon Bleu and Sizing Europe on the roll of honour, this Grade 2 prize has lost some of it’s appeal in recent years.
Fourth and second in the last two renewals of the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham, Allegorie De Vassy returns to action in the T.A. Morris Memorial Irish EBF Mares Chase.
She looks vulnerable though, in against the race fit Shecouldbeanything, with this likeable Gordon Elliott-trained bay bidding to register a fourth win in-a-row.
Featuring Grade 3 and Listed contests, Naas on Sunday should be informative, with subsequent Supreme Novices’ Hurdle winner Slade Steel successful at this fixture 12-months ago.
ONE TO WATCH:
Janes Harbour (Joseph O’Brien): This JP McManus-owned homebred finished third in the opener at Down Royal on Saturday. Short of room after the third last, her effort petered out thereafter. Previous to this, she was a close-up third at Cork and was unlucky there after making a mistake two flights from the finish. Open to further progress, she is likely to make an impact in the coming months, with the Boodles at Cheltenham in March a potential long-term target.
RIDER TO FOLLOW:
On what was his first ride in the UK, Calum Hogan made the perfect start when guiding Ballytechno to victory in the opener at Ascot on Saturday. The Co Limerick native only partnered his first winner at Listowel in September and has been creating a favourable impression ever since. It was quite noteworthy that he was brought across for that solitary ride on Saturday and he advertised his capabilities well. Still claiming 7lb, he is sure to be used plenty over the coming months, with further trips across the Irish Sea quite likely.
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