John Ingles provides the Timeform reaction to the top races from the last week, including Brighterdaysahead’s stunning success at Leopardstown.
Constitution Hill had been sent off at odds of 7/1-on and 12/1-on for his two previous Christmas Hurdles, so the fact that his price flirted with odds against before late support for the latest renewal (returning an SP of 5/6) was an indication of the various issues that had kept him off the track for exactly a year. Another factor in Constitution Hill’s price was that he faced a race-fit rival in Lossiemouth who was seen as a genuine Champion Hurdle pretender, even though she still had the best part of a stone to find with Constitution Hill on his best form and taking her mares’ allowance into account.
In the event, though, Lossiemouth lacked the pace over Kempton’s flat two miles to land a blow and gave the distinct impression she wasn’t at the top of her game. Seeming to find things happening too quickly from an early stage, she ultimately kept on to be beaten two and a half lengths in second (replay below). That’s Constitution Hill’s smallest winning margin for any of his nine wins. He too, therefore, was nowhere near his best either, but in remaining unbeaten and becoming the first horse to win the Christmas Hurdle three times, Constitution Hill swept away any doubts that he remains the best in the two-mile hurdle division with a polished performance.
Joseph O’Brien’s stable was giving good indications of being a yard in form going into the Christmas period and the highlight of his three Grade 1 winners was provided by Banbridge in the King George VI Chase. Although unproven over three miles after a career spent mostly over shorter trips, Banbridge had underfoot conditions to suit, was already a course winner, benefited from a very well-judged ride from Paul Townend and just weeks earlier had been in the process of putting up a career-best performance when unseating at the last in the Hilly Way Chase where he was trying to concede 10 lb to the top-class Energumene.
It was the front-running Il Est Francais (168 from 157+) who looked the likely winner for most of the way in the King George as he attempted to pull off the same tactics which had won him the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase over course and distance on the same card 12 months earlier. The gallop he set found out the flaws in all his rivals bar the equally strong-travelling Banbridge who began to make headway from four out and then picked off the long-time leader soon after the final fence where Il Est Francais lost momentum. Banbridge won by a length and three quarters, with a gap of ten lengths to L’Homme Presse in third.
Top-class efforts from the first two made this as good as any King George since Cue Card edged out Vautour in another close finish in 2015. It’s less certain that Banbridge has the right qualities for a Gold Cup but, as long as conditions aren’t too testing, he’ll be a major contender on form for whichever races he’s targeted at in the spring.
Sir Gino had remained over hurdles for his reappearance and won last month’s Fighting Fifth at Newcastle while Constitution Hill was still sidelined, but with his stablemate back on Boxing Day, four-year-old Sir Gino made his much-anticipated chasing debut in the following day’s Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase. Nicky Henderson has won the Wayward Lad with a string of top-notchers that includes Sprinter Sacre, Simonsig, Altior and Shishkin but none of those had won it on their chasing debut.
As in the Christmas Hurdle, Willie Mullins provided the main opposition with Ballyburn, last season’s top novice hurdler who had been beaten only once previously and had won unchallenged on his chasing debut at Punchestown the previous month. But in receipt of 6 lb from that rival thanks to his four-year-olds’ allowance, Sir Gino was sent off the 8/13 favourite and won in the manner of a top-class chaser in the making. Whilst not fluent at the first fence, Sir Gino jumped superbly thereafter, quickening clear from three out and going on to win eased down by seven and a half lengths. Sir Gino’s exceptionally high Timeform rating for a chasing debutant of 159 – and with the ‘large P’ symbol – is backed up by a very good timefigure and he’ll take all the beating wherever he goes for the rest of the season, understandably now odds on for the Arkle. He’s the highest-rated novice chaser this season, 4 lb clear of Inthepocket (155p) who is next in the pecking order.
The betting for the Savills Chase made it essentially a two-horse race between the Willie Mullins pair Galopin des Champs and Fact To File. The two were meeting again in a much-anticipated rematch after the latter had come out best in last month’s John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase. But the stiffer test of the Leopardstown race enabled Galopin des Champs to turn the tables on his younger challenger in convincing fashion as for the second year running Galopin des Champs bounced back from defeat in the John Durkan to win the Savills, taking his unbeaten record at Leopardstown to six races.
Conditions were less testing than 12 months earlier when Galopin des Champs won by a much wider margin and he didn’t need to run to his best on this occasion, but he still produced a taking performance to power clear of Fact To File after the final fence to win by seven and a half lengths having jumped well and made all the running. Fact To File threatened only briefly going to the last before being left behind on the run-in which raises doubts about his getting the Gold Cup trip. Galopin des Champs therefore remains very much the standout in this division and will take plenty of beating in bids to win a third Irish Gold Cup back at Leopardstown and, more importantly, a third Cheltenham Gold Cup too.
Just three days after Constitution Hill’s successful return at Kempton, Brighterdaysahead put herself forward as potentially his new biggest threat following her wide-margin victory in the Neville Hotels Hurdle at Leopardstown. The combination of a tactical affair and the failure of odds-on favourite State Man to give his running in his bid to win the race for the third year in a row means that a somewhat cautious view of the form has been taken, but that still credits Brighterdaysahead, who pulled thirty lengths clear after all, with an improved and top-class effort. Indeed, her new rating places her above the 162 achieved by the same connections’ multiple Grade 1 winner Apple’s Jade and even the 165 of dual Champion Hurdle winner Honeysuckle. Brighterdaysahead’s rating has only been bettered by a mare over hurdles this century by Annie Power who was rated 170+ when winning the Aintree Hurdle by 18 lengths in 2016 on her final start after winning that year’s Champion Hurdle.
In a field of six comprising three runners each from the Mullins and Elliott stables, it was the latter ‘team’ who shone tactically, with Brighterdaysahead tracking stablemate King of Kingsfield as they raced clear from the outset with nothing else ever getting involved. Jumping on two out as the long-time leader gave way, Brighterdaysahead was eventually followed home by the outsider of the Mullins trio, Winter Fog, who got the better of a plainly below-form State Man for second. Brighterdaysahead had had race fitness on her side when also beating State Man in the Morgiana Hurdle last month but hopefully a more evenly-run Irish Champion Hurdle in February will give a clearer picture of how things stand between Ireland’s two highest-rated hurdlers.
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