Champion Hurdle route "most likely" for Marine Nationale
Marine Nationale will bypass next week’s Punchestown Festival and embark on his summer break instead.
The unbeaten six-year-old justified the confidence of trainer Barry Connell with a stunning display at the Cheltenham Festival when winning the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
He was expected to try to extend his unbeaten run in the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle on Tuesday, but his name was not among the eight confirmations.
“We’ve decided we’re going to let him out now, he’s been on the go for the past 12 months and he didn’t get a summer at grass last year,” said Connell.
“It would have been nice to go to Punchestown, but he’s done a lot. He’s run five times and won five times, so we’ll let him out and look forward to having him for either the Champion Hurdle or possibly a novice chasing campaign which we’ll discuss in the summer.
“His form was boosted at Aintree last week with Inthepocket and Strong Leader coming from the Supreme and Ashroe Diamond from the Royal Bond.
“This time last year he hadn’t had a run and we ended up having a summer campaign which was really unusual, so weighing it all up, we think giving him the break is for the best.”
Looking ahead to next season, Connell added: “I would say the Champion Hurdle route is more likely but he has a lot of schooling done over fences and jumps brilliant, so it is an option.
“He’s only run three times over hurdles and while his jumping was very good at Cheltenham, Michael (O’Sullivan) felt there was room for improvement, he was still hanging in the air a bit which Champion Hurdle horses don’t do. That will come with experience.
“Assuming Constitution Hill goes chasing, there’s probably a vacancy. There’s no Hurricane Fly or Annie Power around in the Champion Hurdle, so that is probably the way we are leaning.
“Good Land (Dublin Festival Grade One winner) will go chasing for sure, though. He ran OK at Cheltenham, if a bit flat, but he’ll be exciting over fences.”
Facile Vega, Diverge and High Definition – all behind Marine Nationale at Cheltenham – are among the eight contenders for the, along with impressive Ballymore winner Impaire Et Passe.
There are seven in the William Hill Champion Chase over two miles with Energumene, Gentleman De Mee, Blue Lord and Chacun Pour Soi all possible for Willie Mullins.
In the Dooley Insurance Champion Novice Chase, Mullins has five of the seven confirmations, which include Sir Gerhard and Appreciate It.
Fitzwilliam Sports join Punchestown party
As anticipation builds ahead of the 2023 Punchestown Festival, the home of Irish jump racing today announced Fitzwilliam Sports as an exciting addition to the sponsorship line-up ahead of this year's jump racing showcase.
The €100,000 Fitzwilliam Sports Handicap Hurdle, over two miles and three furlongs, takes place on the concluding day of the Punchestown Festival and the 2022/23 Irish National Hunt season.
This year for the first time, the race will have an additional €100,000 bonus for the winner should they go on to win the Galway Hurdle at the 2023 Galway Festival.
The Grade B contest has proven to be another fruitful race for Willie Mullins, who will this year be bidding for his fifth success in six years in the race. Long-time Punchestown Festival supporter Phillip Hobbs won the 2022 renewal with Camprond, ridden to victory by Aidan Coleman for owner JP McManus.
Fitzwilliam Sports is a brand-new members-only bookmaker based in Dublin, offering discreet, dependable and customer-focussed services to its clients.
John Sheil, Trading Director at Fitzwilliam Sports, is no stranger to Punchestown and explains the importance of their support at the festival: "When we established Fitzwilliam Sports, we had a very clear concept of what we wanted to achieve; to lay decent bets at fair prices and to provide a high-quality service to our clients.
"As one of Ireland's leading national-hunt racetracks, the parallels with Punchestown are obvious. The Punchestown team always delivers a fantastic festival, with exceptional racing on the track and world-class customer service off the track. Like us, they understand their customer's needs and make every effort to ensure those needs are met and exceeded. We also wanted to add some extra incentive for the first year of our sponsorship, so we are delighted to offer a €100,000 bonus to the winner of this race, should they go on to win the 2023 Galway Hurdle."
Janet Creighton, Punchestown Sponsorship Team, welcomed the announcement: “Paul Byrne and his team at Fitzwilliam Sports are an ideal fit as exclusive festival Saturday bookmaking partner. Fitzwilliam Sports speak our language when it comes to tailored customer service and elevated client experience.
"When you contact Punchestown you speak with someone who knows the place and product inside out and wants to optimise customer experience. Fitzwilliam Sports are on the same page and we look forward to developing this partnership”.
