Popular Faugheen bids to confound expectations again

For once the old cliché about not a dry eye in the house might be appropriate should the remarkable Faugheen confound every Cheltenham norm on Thursday.

At the age of 12 the 2015 Champion Hurdle winner has already turned racing expectations on their head this season.

Sent over fences at an age when most horses are peering down the route to retirement, Faugheen has rejuvenated an already stellar career.

Three wins out of three over fences include a pair of Grade Ones that brought the house down at Limerick at Christmas and in Leopardstown during last month’s Dublin Racing Festival.

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Both occasions proved how the horse once popularly acclaimed as 'The Machine' has been taken to the hearts of the racing public in a way his trainer Willie Mullins says he has never seen before.

Now he pitches up on the sport’s ultimate stage with a 12th career Grade One in his sights and a chance to stir a welcome dollop of feel-good factor into an anxious climate.

If the suspicion remains that Mullins’s instincts had leaned towards staying at home to concentrate on valuable prizes there, uncertainty about the sport’s outlook may have contributed to Faugheen pitching up at the Marsh Novice Chase.

Remarkably the race formerly known as the JLT isn’t confined to a single enthralling storyline either.

Ordinarily Samcro’s participation would be a central narrative rather than loitering in the shadows of Faugheen.

The horse once acclaimed as the sport’s next great superstar has duly pitched up at the Cheltenham festival for a novice chase but in far different circumstances than once widely anticipated.

After he won the Ballymore here in 2018 the racing world was his oyster with every option from the Champion Hurdle to the Gold Cup in the anticipated mix.

Two years later, and after a single win in his seven starts since that Ballymore, Samcro has probably a last shot at proving himself a proper Grade One horse.

His Gigginstown Stud owners have already admitted to feeling it’s unlikely to happen but there’s just enough sheen left on that tarnished reputation to encourage others to hope.

A disappointingly lacklustre finish to that St Stephen’s Day clash with Faugheen at Limerick had many washing their hands of Samcro as a dodge-pot.

Those stalwarts keeping the faith will pin their hopes on a wind operation and Davy Russell getting a first spin on the enigmatic eight year old.

Maybe the combination will work the oracle with Samcro. More likely is that Faugheen could break the festival mould by landing a Grade One prize at the age of 12. But perhaps most likely of all is that a horse half his age, Itchy Feet, will employ youthful vigour to peak effect.

Better fit

Normally Thursday's other Grade One prize, the Ryanair Chase, and the prospect of an evocative festival finish between Rachael Blackmore and Bryony Frost would be front and centre on Day Three.

Frost’s emotional success on Frodon in the race last year was one of the 2019 festival’s highlights.

The partnership are back to defend the title with their biggest threat looking to come from Blackmore and her own Grade One mount A Plus Tard.

The latter scored by 16 lengths in a handicap here last year but graduated to Grade One level at Christmas when pricking the expectation balloon surrounding Chacun Pour Soi.

Remaining at two miles for the festival was briefly examined by the A Plus Tard team, and considering how the supposed race of the meeting cut up on Wednesday he would have been a leading player.

However the Ryanair’s extra distance ultimately looks a better fit for the youngest horse in the race.

Min too could have been a player in the Champion Chase but his best performances have come at two and a half. He chased home Chacun Pour Soi at the Dublin Racing Festival and few would begrudge him a first festival success. A Plus Tard looks the one to beat however.

His stable companion Minella Melody has topped betting for the Daylesford Mares’ Novice Hurdle on the run-in to the festival.

The stiff two miles of the New Course will play to the strengths of a mare who has been doing her winning past the minimum trip.

The last of them was at Fairyhouse in January when too good for the Willie Mullins pair Colreevy and Dolcita over two and a quarter miles. Of the trio the drop back in distance could most favour Dolcita who had previously won at Tramore.

Relegate is a former Champion Bumper winner here for Mullins. She's now with Colm Murphy whose Cheltenham pedigree was stellar through the exploits of Brave Inca and Big Zeb before he briefly retired from the training ranks.

Victory in the Pertemps Final would ensure a remarkable comeback. However after she won at Grade One level here in 2018, the prospect of Relegate in a handicap off a mark of 137 would have had punters getting very excited. If her jumping stands up she should be a prime contender.