Marine “the horse of a lifetime” for Connell and Flanagan

Marine Nationale did not go off favourite despite winning the Cheltenham Champion Chase but the doubters were silenced as Barry Connell’s pride and joy cantered to a seven-length triumph over the gutsy Captain Guinness in the feature of Punchestown Festival’s opening day, the WILLIAM HILL CHAMPION CHASE.
Willie Mullins had secured the first two Grade 1 contests on the programme and his Ryanair Chase winner, Fact To File was sent off the 11/10 favourite to complete the full deck stepping back to two miles.

The eight-year-old found the going too hot, however, and was struggling to when the taps were turned on between the fourth- and third-last fences.
At that juncture, the eye was drawn to Paul Townend and El Fabiolo, who loomed outside the pace-setting former Champion Chaser, Captain Guinness and Solness, with Sean Flanagan nudging Marine Nationale into position having been found temporarily in a pocket.

Once with space to move into, Flanagan returned to motionless setting approaching the second-last, while Townend started to squeeze, albeit only slightly. Not for the first time in his career, however, El Fabiolo paid scant regard to an obstacle, ploughing through it and dumping his helpless pilot to the turf
From there, it was bar a fall and that never looked likely, the margin stretching to easy seven lengths at the lollipop.

“I felt that the horse had improved from every run and improved again from Cheltenham and we were proved right,” said an exultant Connell, who is a rarity, if not unique at this level as an owner and trainer.
“He won doing a half-speed and I think this horse has all the attributes to be a multiple Champion Chase winner going forward.
“Our target is to win three (at Cheltenham) and equal Badsworth Boy, who is the only horse in history to win three Champion Chases despite all the storied horses over the years.
“He’s only eight. That’s his 12th run. No mileage on the clock so he can go back next year, nine and ten, and he grows an extra leg at Cheltenham. He’s just so laidback, goes through the gears, does enough, doesn’t burn any extra petrol than what he needs.
“It’s fantastic as he is the most wonderful creature. Everybody in the yard has had a huge part to play in this. Garret (Cotter) rides him every day and looks after him… it’s a great success story for Kildare. We’re thrilled. We’ve a small little yard (in , we’ve only 13, 14 horses riding out and we’re able to punch at the highest level if we get the ammunition and this is the horse of a lifetime.”
Flanagan was equally overjoyed and unsurprised.
“I felt coming into it he was a bit of an underdog, not an underdog, but he wasn’t talked about,” the jockey observed. “All the talk was Fact To File. He’s done what I was feeling. I actually probably got a better feel off him at Leopardstown at the Dublin Racing Festival than I did at Cheltenham. I got there a little bit soon at Cheltenham and he idled a bit up the hill. He’s done that very well there.
“I had a little bit of a moment. JJ (Slevin, on Solness) and Rachael (Blackmore, on Captain Guinness) are two very solid riders and I was behind them turning into the straight and I said, ‘I’m going to struggle to get out of here.’ For a brief second I half-thought about edging out but I said no, I’d bide my time, I’d plenty of horse. I could see Paul making a move and I waited until we came into the straight and started edging out. I was confident enough that we would win.
“Barry holds the horse in such high regard. As he says, he’s the horse of a lifetime. I’ve ridden a lot of horses through the years and I’ve never ridden anything like him.
“I’ve said several times before, I’m riding 20 years and people say, ‘Why do you still get out of bed and go every day,’ and that’s why. You’re looking for one, just one like him, and I think we’ve found one!”

Having landed an apparently unconsidered outsider to score in the day’s first Grade 1 with 18/1 shot Irancy in the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle, champion trainer, Mullins landed the second, the DOOLEY INSURANCE CHAMPION NOVICE CHASE with Champ Kiely, who went off at 22/1 but upset 11/8 favourite and stablemate, Ballyburn by six and a half lengths.
It was an incident-packed contest, with three other Mullins competitors coming a cropper along the way.
The most disappointing was the fall of Lecky Watson, the Brown Advisory winner at Cheltenham, who brought down the strongly fancied Impaire Et Passe, coming into the race off a very impressive triumph at this level at Aintree.

Ile Atlantique also fell but thankfully, all three horses and riders appeared none the worse for wear afterwards.
Townend sent Ballyburn to take it up from Polly Gundry’s Don’t Rightly Know and Harry Cobden heading out on the final circuit but Danny Mullins in the Mags Masterson colours moved on his outside turning for home and the writing was on the wall for favourite backers.
All that was needed was a safe leap at the last and he got it, before galloping to the line.

Danny, who time and again has delivered Grade 1 winners for his uncle, most recently with Il Etait Temps at Sandown on Saturday to confirm the annexation of a second straight British trainers’ championship, hailed the maestro for turning Champ Kiely around quickly, after finishing third in the WillowWarm Gold Cup nine days ago.
“He never really attacked when the loose horse upset him in Fairyhouse last week,” he reported. “But in fairness to Willie, he wasn’t afraid to come back here. Knew the variable was stepping up five furlongs in trip and there was every chance he’d go and do that.

“I knew Paul was the horse to beat. The Gigginstown one (Stellar Story) was going to play a part but we got the better of him off the bend and he is a good horse to put it to bed nicely. For me, I’m just so lucky to be part of the team in Willie’s. I’m just blessed to be on the team and get to ride some of the good ones on these days
Mullins made it three big-priced winners in a row when Ruth Dudfield steered Wonderful Everyday to secure the Goffs Defender Bumper at 16/1 with Stephen Connor guiding the Stuart Crawford-trained Green Hint to second.

The day’s concluding race, the Willie Coonan Memorial INH Flat Race went to the Gavin Cromwell-trained debutant Bud Fox. Ridden by the relentless Derek O’Connor, who had steered him to victory in a maiden point-to-point at his local Bellharbour venue in February, the four-year-old could be picked out among a group of horses in contention before they hit the home straight.
He stayed on soundly to win by four and a quarter lengths from Celestial Tune, who is trained by Tom Cooper and was ridden by Barry Stone, a Cheltenham winner in March, who was settling for the silver medal position for the second time in the day, having been just denied in the opening Kildare Hunt Club Chase for the Ladies Cup.
The attendance on the opening day of the Punchestown Festival was 17,842, up from 16,361 in 2024.