The clip of Johnny Murtagh’s Champs Elysees rattling home to score during Champions Weekend at Leopardstown is still fresh in the memory. There was nobody but the trainer and his wife Orla in stand celebrating a milestone success for the Cortown man.
Seagulls were the only competition they might have had for a spot. As racing remained off limits to the masses owing to the havoc inflicted upon the world by Covid-19.
Fast forward to this weekend and there was another abundance of success for leading personalities of the Sport Of Kings from the Royal County. Granted, Willie Mullins and Henry De Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore and Honeysuckle stole most of the headlines. Deservedly so too.
The real bonus this time, of course, was that the crowds were back in situ to observe the two days of astonishing action first hand. And what glorious feats they were blessed to witness.
Whilst rightly acknowledging the brilliance delivered by those mentioned above, from a personal and Meath perspective, forgive me if I firstly laud what was another great weekend for the Meath racing fraternity. Special mention must go to Moynalvey rider Robbie Power, returning after a very lenghty injury absence.
Also, the Jones family from Dunsany can feel satisfied with their weekend’s work. Their Sea Ducor ran a fine race, sent out by Fairyhouse native Arthur Moore, to finish fourth in the big handicap hurdle. Moreover, it would be the steadfast belief of this corner that said animal’s best days are still well in front of him.
The other great Moynalvey operator, Tony Martin, continued his resurgence of late when his Good Time Jonny was a snug winner of Saturday’s most valuable handicap. Bagging the €60,000 winning pot for Aidan ‘Red’ Shiels. A long-time and loyal patron of the Arrodstown yard.
Martin thought the gelding good enough to contest the Cheltenham Bumper at one point and, while the trainer indicated the familiar green and red silks won’t be making another trek to the Gloucester track, there will be plenty of other good pots to be aimed at and it would be foolhardy to overlook the team’s chance.
Forgive me, though, if I gush over what was a wonderful weekend of redemption for Gordon Elliott. Just shy of a year ago, the Summerhill man was villified and ostracised by those considered to be people of influence in the industry.
Why? Because the man made an error of judgement and some bitter, vindictive, jealous person decided to kick him when he was down. As this corner opined in a piece on the matter at the time, the last man who never made a mistake was crucified on a Good Friday. Thankfully, the vast majority of the racing fraternity were willing to see the bigger picture and, hopefully, the likes of Cheveley Park Stud and the French owners will eventually get their heads out of their backsides and restore their support to the affable and popular Meath trainer.
Day one of the Dublin Racing Festival it appeared frustration was going to be the lot of the Summerhill GFC sponsor after Fil Dor, Hollow Games and Riviere D’Atel – two of the three in the silks of Noel Moran’s Bective Stud as it happened – hit the crossbar in the opening triumvirate of contests.
However, when Team Elliott did hit the net, they not only did so in spectacular fashion but also in a manner, it’s ventured, that possibly even surprised themselves. With the greatest of due respect, prior to yesterday, Conflated looked more like a horse for a Midlands National at Kilbeggan than an Irish Gold Cup.
But then, achieving extraordinary things with ordinary material is what sets the great sportspeople away from the good. Such as Claudio Ranieri winning the Premier League with Leicester City, Ger Loughnane transforming Clare ‘The whipping boys of Munster’ into the best and most feared hurling team in the game or Alex Ferguson guiding Manchester United to knock Liverpool off their “F*****g Perch” at a time before insane transfer markets and gargantuan relocation fees.
Comparatively speaking, galvinising a horse which won a modest beginners chase at Naas and another ordinary affair at Navan to capture the most important Graded race in the country represents quite the training performance by the Cullentra operation. One suspects Gordon knows that himself too given that the stated aim of yesterday’s assignment was to determine whether the animal was up to the desired level or not. We know the answer to that now!
Mind you, outstanding as the performances of the Martin and Elliott horses were, they, along with all other participants, had to cede billing top to the big two attractions of the pair of glorious days of action. That is to say the Willie Mullins machine and the current incarnation of the queen of Irish racing – or maybe jump racing everywhere – Honeysuckle.
As is often the case in these situations, it was a case of starting as he meant to go on. His Vaubaun being a very cosy winner of the of opening juvenile hurdle. Having said that, Gordon’s Fil Dor lost little or nothing in defeat.
Thereafter it was in the novice chase division that the Carlow collossus really let the clutch in and went up through the gears. Firstly when Blue Lord put his jumping together for the first time and then Galopin Des Champs embellished his standing as Willie’s top young chaser with classy garnering of the Patrick Ward And Company Solicitors Irish Arkle.
After that it was over to the ladies, Rachael and Honey to add yet another chapter to one of the most remarkable stories Irish sport has seen or will see for a long time. Temptation is to say one could run out superlatives to properly pay homage to this unique pair of athletes, but it’s simply a matter of having to.
Chances are I’m not alone in fearing the day the dynamic duo go to the well and the bucket comes up dry. There’s no sign of it happening anytime shortly, hopefully. For what it’s worth, if on the search for a bit of value against the marvelous mare, a punters could do far worse than speculate a small amount on the Mullins-trained Saint Roi.
The JP McManus-owned representative showed plenty of promise as a younger horse but had gone off the boil for quite some time, but, on Sunday’s showing is coming back to form at the right time of the year.
There could be one other horse, outside of those mentioned already, to which the Mullins team will be looking forward to going to war with. Both for the remainder of this season and indeed into the future.
An old dictum declares that an ounce of breeding is worth a tonne of feeding. If it carries any credence, Facile Vega could be absolutely anything. For, if Honeysuckle is the current queen of the course, there’s no doubt as to who she inherited the crown from, Quevega. The Hammer And Trowel Syndicate’s prized possession has moved to phase two of her career and if evidence thus far is anything to go by, she is likely to be every bit as big a success as a broodmare as was the case on the course.
Her son, Facile Vega, certainly lived up to his name when demolishing a classy looking bumper field on Saturday evening. It would, I think, be fairly universally accepted that, for all their continued and incomparable excellence at what they do, Willie and Patrick Mullins are generally very modest and understated.
So, taking that into consideration – not to mention some of the equine artilery they have gone to war with over the years, to hear the pilot exclaim “That was a bit Wow” probably tells you all you need to know.
Wow indeed. The countdown to the racing Olympics is well and truly on.
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