Hurricane Fly’s retirement will leave a gaping gap in Leopardstown’s Ryanair Hurdle this Christmas but Gigginstown Stud’s Identity Thief looks a natural fit to try to fill it.
The Henry De Bromhead-trained star became just Gigginstown’s second senior Grade One winner over flights when scoring in last weekend’s Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle and could be seen next in the holiday feature sponsored by his owner, Michael O’Leary.
De Bromhead has given the progressive Identity Thief a clean bill of health after he rewarded O’Leary’s bold decision to supplement him into the Newcastle race, a performance that resulted in him being cut to 20/1 odds for Champion Hurdle glory at Cheltenham in March.
Juvenile ranks
Gigginstown’s focus usually centres on steeplechases and prior to Saturday their only Grade One winner over hurdles outside the novice and juvenile ranks was Lieutenant Colonel, who scored twice at the top level last season.
Identity Thief is likely to remain at two miles, however, with the Ryanair favourite for his next start rather than another trip across the Irish Sea for Kempton’s Christmas Hurdle.
“I’ll have to talk to Michael and Eddie [O’Leary] but travelling does take it out of them and my feeling is we could stay at home.
“We’ll have to see how he is over the next few weeks but I would imagine the Ryanair at Leopardstown will be an option and we’ll put him in that,” De Bromhead said.
Identity Thief has been raised a stone on official ratings for his Newcastle victory and is now on a mark of 158, leaving him still with something to find against other likely Ryanair contenders, such as the Willie Mullins-trained pair, Nichols Canyon and Arctic Fire.
Nichols Canyon has been installed a 6/5 favourite by Powers for the Ryanair, with Arctic Fire on 6/4 and Identity Thief rated a 4/1 shot.
The Ryanair was dominated in recent years by Mullins’s Hurricane Fly who memorably completed a three-in-a-row last year and also scored in 2010. His overall tally of four wins in the race equalled Istabraq’s haul between 1997 and 2001.
Identity Thief’s Fighting Fifth performance was a 14th career Grade One success for his trainer and De Bromhead will aim at a quick follow-up in this Saturday’s Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown – a race he won in 2011 through Sizing Europe – with Special Tiara.
Greatest success
The eight-year-old was a disappointing favourite on his reappearance at Navan in the Fortria last month but is set to return to the scene of his greatest success when beating Sprinter Sacre in last April’s Celebration Chase.
That old rival is skipping the two-mile highlight but Willie Mullins’s outstanding Un De Sceaux is likely to make his first start of the new season in the Tingle Creek and is already an odds-on favourite to maintain his winning streak.
De Bromhead, however, is keen to get Special Tiara back into action, and said: “We’ll have to see what the weather does but it would be nice to run him in the Tingle Creek. He was very disappointing the last day but he has a tendency to do that. We’ve tweaked a few things with him and the horse seems in mighty form now.”
Sizing John landed the Future Champions Novice Hurdle last Christmas and is due to return to Leopardstown for another clash with his old rival Douvan in the Grade One Racing Post Novice Chase on St Stephens Day.
De Bromhead’s promising novice was placed on three occasions behind Douvan last season, including at Cheltenham, but has thrived over fences, winning both starts to date including the Grade Two Craddockstown Chase at Punchestown last time.
“The other horse looked very good on his first run over fences but our lad has looked good as well and you have to take these guys on,” De Bromhead said. “Sizing Granite is likely to go for the Dial-A-Bet over Christmas. There’s the Hilly Way in Cork but we feel he likes a good break between races.”
