The day one feature didn’t go as many neutral observers had hoped, but Marine Nationale’s decisive victory against Captain Guinness should solidify his place as the best two-mile chaser as he won the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival on his sixth chase start. The Ryanair Chase winner is brilliant. Mark Walsh was spotted nagging his mount, which was held up near the back, from about four out, and he quickly eased Fact To File down with all the chances gone three from home, making him the 11/10 favorite even though Fact To File had dropped back to two miles. Captain Guinness had led the field, but Solness’s lead was never more than a length or two, and he never managed to escape from quite a closely grouped pack.
He continued to lead as others waited, and a poor decision at the last ditch didn’t substantially slow him down. El Fabiolo was among them; he was in the middle of a much better race on his comeback to right-handed racing when he crashed out while attempting to finish second last. The comparatively simple task of catching the two front-runners was left to Marine Nationale, who succeeded in doing so and won by seven lengths. Barry Connell, who owns and trains Marine Nationale and has a yard only 20 minutes from Punchestown, has never concealed his admiration for the horse, telling Racing TV: “He’s the horse of a lifetime, it’s wonderful.” Although it feels like he’s been with us for ages, that was only his twelfth run he was a four-year-old, two bumper wins, three hurdle wins – including a Royal Bond and a Supreme – and then he had a truncated beginners chase season, won his first one and then he got a suspensory injury.
“This season was a slow burn since we had to catch up in terms of experience and jumping, so we had to give him some time off. He continued to come, and we were pleased that he had lost 10 pounds. When I was overly optimistic the first time [before the Supreme], I vowed not to do it again. We can’t defeat him, according to the paper I’ve been reading all week. I said, “Look, I can’t speak for anyone else’s horse, but all I can tell you is that our horse has improved significantly since returning from Cheltenham, and I believe he has all the qualities you want for a Champion Chaser.”
Views of the famous Badsworth boy
When Badsworth Boy won three, he was eight, nine, and ten years old. He is the only horse to have won three times since the race’s inception in 1959. Only two were ever won by any of the top horses, including Altior, Sprinter Sacre, and Master Minded. I told the handyman to “hang on, hold fire there, and leave a bit of room for the next couple of years” when he was centering the small green plaque that we had brought home from Cheltenham. I simply am aware of this horse’s excellence. I spend a lot of time in his box by myself. You may think I’m crazy, but this horse exudes energy, and I can tell when he’s right and he knows he won the Champion and he came here with a swagger and he just dawdled around, popped away and popped away, gave a little squeeze and picked up and if anything had come to him, he would have gone again.
“It’s great to have a champion horse trained in Kildare.” Jockey Sean Flanagan went on: “He won it so well today, it’s really amazing.” I didn’t feel pressed for time at any point. “I think our boy has just sharpened a bit; he couldn’t go any faster at Leopardstown, and today he was doing it easily, and at times I probably took him back a little bit.” I was probably closer to him [Solness] at all stages today than I was at Leopardstown at Christmas. When I noticed JJ [Slevin, atop Solness] giving a few fences a few thumps, I became a little nervous and wondered if I should move out or not but I just stayed where I was and he’s a very straightforward horse to ride now.
Paul tipped up, and I went from half-nudging down to the second last to full of horse down to the last, and he’s won idling again. I had just enough horse, so I went left off the last corner. He’s a delight to work with and I’ve never ridden one like him, so you can see why [Connell] is confident about Marine Nationale, and he has every right to be. Since he has always been somewhat underappreciated, he has most likely been more optimistic about him. Much credit should go to Gara, Roger, and Barry. On their way to Dublin for the DRF and Christmas, they left some in the locker. They assured them that he would always come forward again and he has.
