Ireland’s most powerful stables were frustrated on both sides of the Irish Sea on Saturday. The postponement of the first day of the Dublin racing festival at Leopardstown was followed by a victory for Fergal O’Brien’s Sixmilebridge in the Grade One Scilly Isles Novice Chase at Sandown.
Willie Mullins’s Kitzbuhel set off as the 10-11 favourite for Sandown’s four-runner feature event, with Gordon Elliott’s Kala Conti next in the list at 2-1, but the market leader got no further than the sixth fence, where a bad mistake unseated Paul Townend, his rider. Sixmilebridge, at 6-1, was far more fluent at his fences and having made all the running, Kielan Woods’s mount stayed on well from the last to beat Kala Conti by five lengths.
“He’s in the Arkle and the three-mile novice [Brown Advisory Novice Chase at Cheltenham in March] as well,” O’Brien told Racing TV. “My gut feeling is probably the three-miler, but my gut feeling is wrong more than it’s right sometimes, so Kielan will inevitably be the one who decides which race we go in. He’s the one that’s riding him and he’ll know what he wants to do.”
Paddy Power cut Sixmilebridge to 12-1 (from 20-1) for the Brown Advisory Novice Chase on 11 March, in a market headed by Mullins’s Final Demand, who is declared to run at Leopardstown on Sunday, at around 11-10.
At Leopardstown, officials remained “cautiously optimistic” that the Dublin racing festival would get under way 24 hours late on Sunday, with an eight-race card that is due to feature four Grade Ones including the Irish Champion Hurdle.
“They are working away on the track,” Mark Clayton, Leopardstown’s chief executive, said. “When we went out there this morning it was unraceable after 17 millimetres of rain overnight, with 100mm during the week.
“We were expecting 4mm to 5mm this morning but we have had about 2mm and we are forecast a dry day today and then through until Monday. Given the forecast we would be cautiously optimistic about Sunday’s card but we will have an inspection at 8am.”
The seven-race card, which was due to open the festival meeting on Saturday has been postponed until Monday, a bank holiday in Ireland, with the Irish Gold Cup due off at 3.30pm.
Market Rasen: 12.47 Wind Your Neck In 1.17 Cinquenta 1.47 Grandad’s Cap 2.20 Sunshine Diamond 2.55 Smurfette 3.30 Mr Zee (nb) 4.02 Lone Soldier.
Musselburgh: 12.55 Mossy Fen Road 1.25 Dedicated Hero 1.55 Koukeo 2.30 Magna Victor 3.05 Transmission 3.40 Double Powerful (nap) 4.15 Lizzie Luna.
The card was abandoned on Saturday morning, around half an hour before a scheduled inspection at 8am, with Paddy Graffin, the clerk of the course, saying in a statement on X that “what appeared to be perfectly fine yesterday is now unraceable”.
Saturday’s scheduled card at Wetherby was also abandoned due to a waterlogged track, but the jumps card at Musselburgh went ahead as planned, as did the all-weather Flat meetings at Newcastle and Lingfield.
Sandown 12.20 Sinchi Roca 12.55 Bollin Thou 1.25 Rip Wheeler 2.02 Escapeandevade 2.40 Kala Conti 3.10 Henri The Second 3.42 Fortunate Man
Lingfield 12.35 Dream Of Mischief 1.05 Survie 1.38 Al Baahy 2.15 Haveagobeau 2.50 Completely Random 3.20 Knight Templar 3.55 Master Of My Fate 4.30 Baloo’s Blues
Musselburgh 1.10 Made U Blush 1.43 Williethebuilder (nap) 2.20 Insurrection 3.00 Absolutely Doyen 3.37 Gemini Man 4.11 Sammy Smart
Newcastle 4.25 Londoner 4.55 Our Absent Friends 5.25 Cerelia 5.55 Beattie Is Back 6.25 Relevant Range 6.55 Mademoiselle Belle 7.25 Lord Capulet
Galopin can land record fourth Gold Cup
Galopin Des Champs was finally beaten in a Leopardstown chase at the eighth time of asking when only third behind Affordale Fury in the Savills Chase in December, but Willie Mullins’s gelding was making his seasonal debut and will be strongly fancied to register a record-equalling fourth win in the rescheduled Irish Gold Cup on Monday.
Galopin Des Champs was also beaten first time up in 2023 and 2024 before taking a three-mile Grade One at Leopardstown on his next outing, and showed more than enough to suggest that his talent remains largely intact.
The dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner should also appreciate the sterner test on much softer ground, and can beat a top-class field to match Florida Pearl’s record of four wins in the race.
