Un De Sceaux and Paul Townsend, winners of the Royal Salute Whisky Clarence House Chase at Ascot. \ healyracing.ie
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The dashing Un De Sceaux was the undoubted star turn of last week’s action as he made it eight Grade 1 victories over fences with an unusually conservative display in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot last weekend.
A week that served up just two jumping fixtures in Ireland meant that the latest appearance of Willie Mullins’ brilliant chaser was by some distance the high point of the last seven days. It is just under five years ago that Un De Sceaux made his first appearance in Ireland and his flamboyant and relentless style, allied to his brilliance, have made him one of the most popular jumpers of recent times.
On his favoured soft ground this gelding has few, if any, peers and he took advantage of a straight forward opportunity last weekend to win in the most assured fashion. Interestingly this victory was achieved with the 10-year-old looking more relaxed than ever and he was quite happy to look on from second until the runners turned for home for the final time.
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Whether he will be quite so restrained over the longer trip of the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham remains to be seen. Indeed it was in that race last year that this most charismatic of performers produced perhaps his most memorable trail blazing display.
Cheltenham will, as ever, represent a far greater test of Un De Sceaux’s mettle but his various Ryanair rivals will face a daunting test when they look to wrest away his crown.
Domestic action
In terms of the week’s domestic action one performance that stood out was that of Dortmund Park in a novice hurdle at Thurles on Sunday. This Gordon Elliott inmate looked as though he would have to improve considerably to play a part in what looked a strong winner’s race and he duly did so to score by 16 lengths. The conditions at Thurles were extreme to say the least but this shouldn’t detract from Dortmund Park’s effort which served notice that he is a staying novice hurdler of some substance. He will be an interesting contender for some quality contests through the last three months of the season.
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The dashing Un De Sceaux was the undoubted star turn of last week’s action as he made it eight Grade 1 victories over fences with an unusually conservative display in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot last weekend.
A week that served up just two jumping fixtures in Ireland meant that the latest appearance of Willie Mullins’ brilliant chaser was by some distance the high point of the last seven days. It is just under five years ago that Un De Sceaux made his first appearance in Ireland and his flamboyant and relentless style, allied to his brilliance, have made him one of the most popular jumpers of recent times.
On his favoured soft ground this gelding has few, if any, peers and he took advantage of a straight forward opportunity last weekend to win in the most assured fashion. Interestingly this victory was achieved with the 10-year-old looking more relaxed than ever and he was quite happy to look on from second until the runners turned for home for the final time.
Whether he will be quite so restrained over the longer trip of the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham remains to be seen. Indeed it was in that race last year that this most charismatic of performers produced perhaps his most memorable trail blazing display.
Cheltenham will, as ever, represent a far greater test of Un De Sceaux’s mettle but his various Ryanair rivals will face a daunting test when they look to wrest away his crown.
Domestic action
In terms of the week’s domestic action one performance that stood out was that of Dortmund Park in a novice hurdle at Thurles on Sunday. This Gordon Elliott inmate looked as though he would have to improve considerably to play a part in what looked a strong winner’s race and he duly did so to score by 16 lengths. The conditions at Thurles were extreme to say the least but this shouldn’t detract from Dortmund Park’s effort which served notice that he is a staying novice hurdler of some substance. He will be an interesting contender for some quality contests through the last three months of the season.
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