Despite a great day’s of action at Leopardstown, I was rather left with the unfortunate feeling that the horses we had seen wouldn’t be doing much at the Cheltenham Festival next month. It’s a bit of a sad statement to make, and despite the racing exciting me I was left with the view that the quality wasn’t as high as you’d need to be winning the top races next month. That’s not to say there wasn’t some good performances on the day as that would be completely unfair. And I must stress that Last Instalment put in another great performance over fences so I’m not being completely negative. To make things easier I’ll give my views on each of the Grade 1′s accordingly.
Hisaabaat Wins The Spring Juvenile
The opening race was disappointing for me purely from a financial point of view. I backed Shadow Catcher and had fancied my chances entering the back straight, but a mistake at the last cost him. He may not have held on anyway but it certainly didn’t help. It was good to see Hisaabaat finally get off the mark after three consecutive second-places, and it was something I hadn’t expected I must admit. The application of headgear was clearly a wise move from trainer Dermot Weld. Sportsmaster was disappointing, as was Ut De Sivola although he may have had a valid excuse for being so far behind. Countrywide Flame put in a typical game performance but the line through him would suggest this lot aren’t top quality. I’d probably take Shadow Catcher from the race. With more experience under his belt I’d expect him to progress again and trainer Gordon Elliott has said he’s a horse they do like at home. That being said, I can’t see any of these threatening to win the Supreme or the Triumph.
Benefficient Lands 50/1 Surprise
In the Deloitte we saw a surprise as rank outsider Benefficient took glory with a brilliant front-running ride. Whilst I don’t want to take anything away from the winner, I have to take the view that the other’s aren’t as good as we may have thought they were. The form certainly took a big hit. I recall seeing a few people touting Cash And Go as the winner and then a Supreme winner but he laboured back in fifth. Sous Les Cieux ran with more credit, running on strongly to suggest a step up in trip will suit him nicely. Unfortunately for connections he has no such options for Cheltenham and it’s hard to see him getting into the mix now. Nicky Henderson will have been disappointed having sent over Captain Conan after supplementing him. He must of expected to be right up in contention but he too ran no sort of race. I wouldn’t be surprised if he missed the festival now. Whatever happens with him though, he is clearly a big horse that will no doubt be a good chasing type for the yard next year. In terms of the 2012 Cheltenham Festival though, all of these horses now have something to prove if they can be taken seriously.
Last Instalment Continues To Impress
One that again impressed me was Philip Fenton’s Last Instalment who scored victory in the Moriarty Chase. He has looked full of class since switching to fences this season and impressed me massively when slamming First Lieutenant at Leopardstown at the back end of last year. The trip over three miles that day appeared ideal, so it was perhaps a tad worrying with the drop back down. Given that the extra trip was likely to suit Lambro then it was understandable that he wouldn’t quite get things all his own way. However a cracking ride from Davy Russell from the front saw Last Instalment dictate things, and he pushed on towards the end in great style. For me he would stand a great chance in the RSA Chase but there’s no guarantee he will turn up. Fenton says he will want “soft” in the going description. I also have to say, as much as I have been seriously impressed by Last Instalment, Grands Crus still stands out as top class and he’s the one to beat should he not go for the Gold Cup. As he may not turn up I couldn’t justify backing Last Instalment in the ante post Cheltenham market. If he was to turn up though then he would be a fantastic each way bet, I’m sure of that.
Quel Esprit Takes The Hennessy Gold Cup
We already knew the Hennessy Gold Cup had taken a hit with some big names not making it to the race, and the result has proved to be a fairly weak renewal. I had thought headgear could have sparked Bostons Angel up but he continues to disappoint. It’s really hard to imagine he’s a multiple Grade 1 winner currently. He’s either badly out of form or has just been the beneficiary of a weak staying division in Ireland. Either way, it would take a brave soul to expect him to do anything at Cheltenham now, if he even turns up. China Rock showed up well for a fair way but appeared to be somewhat buzzy and that showed as he faded away rather tamely at the end. I wouldn’t ne writing him off just yet but he needs to show a lot more. Quel Esprit did little wrong when winning and probably did so with a bit in hand. It was a nice moment for him to taste Grade 1 success given his horribly unlucky sequence of results at the top level. Willie Mullins says he’d be hoping to get more improvement out of him before going for the Gold Cup, but quite frankly he will need to improve a lot more. Perhaps he could challenge for a pace but it’s awfully hard to imagine him challenging Kauto or Long Run.
Not All Bad For The Irish
One thing I must add, is that we didn’t see any of the leading Irish challengers in action yesterday, at least in my eyes. The Irish still have their big guns in Hurricane Fly, Quevega and Sizing Europe, and the likes of Boston Bob are likely to create a big impression too. Not forgetting my Neptune tip Monksland, we can still fully expect plenty of Irish horses grabbing the headlines.