O'Leary Flying High On Five

CHELTENHAM, UK—Bizarrely billed as St Patrick's Thursday 48 hours early, the day nevertheless belonged to Ireland. To Patrick, add Gordon, Davy and Michael—that's Messrs Elliott, Russell and O'Leary, trainer, jockey and owner, all going home with huge grins after each enjoying trebles of different permutations.

For Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary, who races his horses in association with brother Eddie under the Gigginstown House Stud banner, claiming the Grade 1 steeplechase which has borne the name of his airline since 2006 was the icing on a multi-tiered cake which had already seen wins for his Samcro (Ire) and Tiger Roll (Ire) on Wednesday.

Thursday's first two races went the same way, with the Elliott-trained mare Shattered Love (Ire) (Yeats {Ire}) continuing her excellent season with victory in the G1 JLT Novices' Chase—her fifth success in six starts this season over fences and a third win of the week for her teenage jockey Jack Kennedy. But Kennedy doesn't have sole rights to the Gigginstown silks, and Davy Russell donned them for the competitive Pertemps Network Final, driving Delta Work (Fr) (Network {Ger}) clear of his 23 rivals, with Russell himself collecting the prize for the third year running after winning the same race aboard Mall Dini (Ire) and Presenting Percy (GB) in the previous two seasons.

It was the third contest of the day that mattered most to O'Leary, however. This time Russell teamed up with the Henry de Bromhead-trained Balko Des Flos (Fr) (Balko {Fr}) to ride another perfectly judged race, stalking the exuberant front-running favourite Un De Sceaux (Fr) before jumping to the lead at the third-last fence and maintaining the advantage by 4½ lengths.

“It has cost me a fortune trying to win this race. I think I've had a runner every year since we have sponsored and we've had so many seconds and thirds so this is very special,” said O'Leary, who has had four different horses finish runner-up in previous years.

“It's great for Henry because he has hit the bar a couple of times with seconds and thirds. It is great to see him have a winner of a Grade 1 here. Today was our day and I am going to enjoy this. You obviously want to win the Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle, but outside those if I could have picked one this year, it would have been the Ryanair.”

Before collecting the trophy from his wife Anita, O'Leary added, “I'm very emotionally attached to the race and it's the one opportunity that I get for my wife to give me some jewellery—it's normally the other way around. The children are all watching on television at home so it's a very special day.”

The winning jockey, who later added victory in the G3 Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate on Elliott's The Storyteller (Ire) (Shantou) to his rapidly expanding Festival portfolio, said, “Once my horse was travelling well, I let him quicken and go forward on his terms and I was happy to do that as I didn't want him to slow down—I was going the one speed the whole way.

“It's an awful shame that Michael doesn't lose any money but I get some of it, which is great! He is a marvellous man for our sport.”

Consecutive trebles will have ensured two extremely satisfying days for Gordon Elliott but his great rival Willie Mullins still eludes him, with seven wins on the board so far this week, another two coming on Thursday via the tearaway G2 Trull House Stud Mares' Novices' Hurdle winner Laurina (Fr) (Spanish Moon) and also in the race which can still be viewed as the feature of Thursday, the G1 Sun Bets Stayers' Hurdle.

This Grade 1 contest was fought out by two Flat-bred geldings who spent their foal days frolicking in the paddocks of Newsells Park Stud in consecutive years. Penhill (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}) and Supasundae (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) were both winners at last year's Festival, but it was the 7-year-old Penhill, making his first appearance this season, who got the upper hand over his year-older rival when the two were pitched into opposition, continuing the Mullins dominance and giving jockey Paul Townend the first of his two wins on the day.

Despite ending the day by pushing past Nicky Henderson as the most successful Festival trainer on 61 wins, Mullins was quick to deflect praise to a member of his team for the victory of the infrequently seen Penhill.

He said, “A lot of credit has to go to Holly Conte who leads him up, rides him and does everything with him. She has virtually trained this horse herself I think. She minds him because he is fairly fragile. I will attribute this to Holly.”

Mullins added, “I would like to put him away now for Cheltenham next year. I don't know what will happen when I say that to connections, but he is not suited to training for the Flat. I was hoping to get a run into him, but coming here without a prep race to win a championship race is a huge achievement to the horse. He is able to do this job so well, so we might just try a whole different plan. If he doesn't go Flat racing, we might be able to have a better winter racing programme.”

Owner Tony Bloom is unlikely to mind too much as he has other classy horses to look forward to for the Flat season, including another Newsells Park-bred son of Mount Nelson, Librisa Breeze (GB), who won last year's G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint.

He said of Penhill's triumphant return, “Back in the summer, we were worried as to whether he would run again, but a few months ago I was told he was getting better and fit, but to be able to come back from all that time out and win a Grade 1 championship race was brilliant. He has done it with absolute style. I was concerned two hurdles out whether he would get up the hill after such a long time out, but he has won it going away.”

Standing in the winner's enclosure watching the horse he has known since birth was Newsells Park Stud manager Julian Dollar, who said with a smile, “We nearly had the Champion Hurdle too with [runner-up] Melon. It's been quite a week. It's wonderful that Supasundae has found his niche and Penhill was a good horse for James Bethell and has gone on to be really good for Willie Mullins. We don't set out our stall to be National Hunt breeders but this is an extra bonus and we have to be proud of it—it's great fun.”

Supasundae, winner of the G1 Irish Champion Hurdle in February, is closely related to Newsells Park's Nathaniel (Ire), being out of that stallion's half-sister Distinctive Look (Ire) (Danehill) and also by Galileo. His dam has been sold to the Wertheimers and she has an Equiano (Fr) colt foal this year.

Penhill's dam Serrenia (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) was also sold, to Aiden Murphy's Warren Chase Stud in December 2012, and was covered again last year by Mount Nelson after he left Newsells Park Stud for Ireland.

Dollar added, “I think Mount Nelson must be Tony Bloom's favourite stallion. I'm genuinely delighted for Boardsmill Stud, where he stands now. We're not in the business of standing dual-purpose horses but I always loved Mount Nelson and to a certain degree it vindicates what we thought about him—he's produced a top-class sprinter and a classy hurdler like Penhill. He can do both jobs.”

Boutique post-race sales of young jumpers have become very popular in Britain and the fifth Cheltenham Festival Sale took place after racing on Thursday. The auction of 27 horses, staged in the parade ring by Tattersalls Ireland, raised a total of £3,165,000 from 20 sold, with two 4-year-old geldings being sold for the joint-top price of £330,000.

Lot 10, Andy Dufresne (Ire) (Doyen {GB}), the winner of his sole start in a point-to-point on March 9, was offered by Camilla Sharples and sold to Gordon Elliott. His co-topper, lot 13, Feel My Pulse (Ire) (Stowaway {GB}), is also one win for one run, his victory achieved the very next day in Lismore for Donnchadh Doyle of Monbeg Stables. The half-brother to the listed-winning hurdler Myska (Ire) (Presenting {GB}) will also be trained by Elliott having been bought by Mags O'Toole, a regular buyer for Gigginstown House Stud.

The average price was £158,250, up by 11% on last year, while the median of £147,500 rose by 23%.

CHELTENHAM THROWDOWN DAY FOUR

The Cheltenham Festival may provide the highlight of British National Hunt racing season, but a major part of the thrill involved has traditionally been the rivalry between the home team and raiders from across the Irish Sea. The influx of French-bred jumpers to both Britain and Ireland, particularly over the last decade, has meant that the competition is now fierce between all three nations. National honour is at stake, and that rivalry filters through to the desks of the TDN offices. This week, our correspondents from Britain, Ireland and France– all three passionate jumping fans and small National Hunt breeders–will take each other on in a daily tipping contest. Here are their selections for day four.

Emma Berry – Britain

He may be trained in Ireland by the country's most upwardly mobile young trainer but EDWULF (GB) was bred in Britain by Ivor Valentine and I'm siding with him to uphold a fine recent record for the GB suffix in the G1 Timico Gold Cup, following Coneygree (GB) in 2015 and Sizing John (GB) last year. Victory in steeplechasing's blue riband would represent a Lazarus-like Cheltenham comeback for the 9-year-old son of Kayf Tara, who was close to death on the course last year after collapsing in the National Hunt Chase. Prolonged life-saving treatment by the on-course vets returned his heartbeat to its normal rhythm and, after being pulled up on his comeback run at Christmas, Edwulf returned triumphant at Leopardstown on Feb. 4 to win the Irish Gold Cup—a first Grade 1 win over jumps for Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Joseph O'Brien.

REDICEAN (GB) was bred by David and Patricia Thompson's Cheveley Park Stud, sold as a foal, yearling and 3-year-old before again changing hands, this time in a recent private sale back to David Thompson, who has always enjoyed running the odd jumper as a sideline to his Flat breeding interests. His colours have been carried to Grand National glory by Party Politics (GB) in 1992 and this slick homebred son of the retired Cheveley Park stalwart Medicean (GB)—now unbeaten in three starts over hurdles since switching from David O'Meara to Alan King—has a great chance of adding a Cheltenham Festival win to Thompson's portfolio in the G1 JCB Triumph Hurdle.

A classy individual in his day, VALDEZ (GB) was off the track for more than three years before making his comeback on Feb. 10 at Newbury, running third of three behind Altior (Ire) and Politologue (Fr). The 11-year-old certainly wasn't disgraced when asked to take on two of the best young bucks of the two-mile chasing scene and he's an intriguing each-way prospect for the G3 Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase, which brings the curtain down on the 2018 Cheltenham Festival.

Daithi Harvey – Ireland

With conditions looking like they will be borderline unraceable, stamina is going to be at a premium on the final day of the Festival and my first selection CHRIS'S DREAM (IRE) in the G1 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle appears to have that staying quality in spades. Henry de Bromhead's gelding handled desperate ground conditions when winning a listed hurdle at Clonmel by a staggering 64 lengths and having had only three runs over hurdles he remains quite unexposed.

I have long been a NATIVE RIVER (IRE) fan and I think his ability to shine over an extreme distance can prove the key to a fascinating renewal of the G1 Cheltenham Gold Cup. A field of 18 makes this one of the largest in recent years and while Might Bite (Ire) bids to give Nicky Henderson a brilliant treble at the meeting and is a worthy favourite I think Native River is best equipped to deal with the unique challenge that the race presents. Our Duke (Ire)'s last-out beating of Presenting Percy (GB) reads particularly well now and if his jumping holds up he shouldn't be far away also.

The County Hurdle looks fiendishly competitive as usual and I give an each-way chance to the Willie Mullins-trained LAGOSTOVEGAS (IRE). The daughter of Footstepsinthesand (GB) has good form on heavy ground and warmed up for this with a decent effort after a break when third at Gowran recently. Despite having a career-high mark to contend with I think she can find the necessary progression to be competitive.

Emmanuel Roussel – France

I guess everyone expects us to pick something in the Gold Cup and I will actually focus on two horses. The first one is MIGHT BITE (IRE). His King George win at Kempton was a freakish performance plus, having won last year's RSA Novices' Chase, his ability to score here is obvious. He's a sound favourite to me.

For an each-way chance, I'd look at Djakadam (Fr) at 33/1. He loves the mud and his price is very attractive since he was one of the favourites for this race only a year ago. He finished fourth that day and I think there's enough left in him to make it to the podium once again.

APPLE'S SHAKIRA (FR) should win the G1 JCB Triumph Hurdle. She was a monster before she left France for Nicky Henderson's stable and she's scored three times on this very course since then.

DORTMUND PARK (FR) was very highly regarded in France before moving to Gordon Elliott's yard in Ireland. He disappointed last time out in a Grade 1 at Leopardstown over 2m6f and subsequently underwent wind surgery. If he's back in full swing, 25/1 is a decent price for the G1 Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle.