Impressive victory for Unaccompanied

RACING/ISTABRAQ HURDLE:ISTABRAQ WAS one National Hunt legend present at Leopardstown yesterday to witness Unaccompanied win the Grade One highlight named after him. But there were more than a few mentions of another legend of the game following Unaccompanied's impressive victory.

It is almost 18 years since a mare last won the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and nearly 28 since Dawn Run recorded the first leg of the most epic double in jumps history.

The nature of jumping is the fairer sex usually find it much more difficult to compete at the very top level compared to the flat and the rarity of Dawn Run’s talent was that no other horse has ever completed the unique Champion Hurdle-Gold Cup double.

Unaccompanied’s own versatility might not be of the type to threaten that statistic but the Dermot Weld-trained four-year- old is carving out a rare niche for herself in terms of modern-day adaptability and she assured herself of a place in the Champion Hurdle reckoning with yesterday’s success. Any filly who can boast a defeat of the Breeders’ Cup hero St Nicholas Abbey was never going to be short of pace for a two mile hurdle and that flat class enabled Unaccompanied to get a decisive lead on the favourite Thousand Stars yesterday that she kept all the way to the line.

Some bookmakers went as low as 10 to 1 about the Weld horse for Cheltenham afterwards. “A lovely mare, and a joy to train. It’s always a huge help when a mare enjoys jumping and she loves it. Today was all about finding out. I believe she could be very high class on the flat. But after this I think she will remain jumping. She’ll be a serious horse wherever she goes though because she’s got that will to win,” Weld said.

A return to Leopardstown is likely to be next on Unaccompanied’s agenda for the Irish Champion, the race that just happened to be Dawn Run’s Cheltenham prep in 1984.

Willie Mullins wasn’t too disappointed with the eclipse of Thousand Stars and said: “The winner had too many gears for us. Our horse stayed on. I’m happy enough with him.”

Apart from Blackstairmountain’s Grade One victory on St Stephen’s Day it turned into a comparatively frustrating Christmas festival for the champion trainer and there was a sad element to it yesterday as the Mullins-trained Celtic Folklore had to be put down after a fall at the third fence in the Beginners Chase.

Victory here went to Hidden Cyclone who earned 12 to 1 RSA quotes on the back of his two length defeat of Nearest The Pin.

“He did all you could want first time over fences but he’s going to have to improve again if he’s to be a Cheltenham horse,” said trainer “Shark” Hanlon, who later completed a double as Star Neuville beat off the odds-on Vesper Bell in the maiden hurdle.

Co Cork born jockey Brian Hayes partnered Star Neuville and was completing his own double having partnered Glam Gerry to land a gamble in the Opportunity Handicap Chase despite a number of bad jumping errors.

Co Dublin owner Barry Connell trumped the lot though, as in addition to Glam Gerry and Star Neuville he completed a hat-trick with Mumbo Jumbo’s bumper victory.