Ben Linfoot reacts to Saturday's action at Haydock and Punchestown as Royale Pagaille and Brighterdaysahead won the feature races.
As Charlie Deutsch whipped off his umpteenth pair of goggles on the way to Betfair Chase glory aboard Venetia Williams’ Royale Pagaille it’s hard to believe it was good ground at Haydock just a few days ago.
Like it so often does, The Weather closed in on the Merseyside track, changing conditions to ‘Soft, Good to Soft’ in places by the first, ‘Soft’ after the opener and then ‘Mudbath’ by the time five of the original 15 contenders finished a gruelling Betfair Stayers’ Handicap Hurdle, the race that preceded the Betfair.
These were Royale Pagaille conditions, this was Venetia time, and while the horse himself deserves great credit for showing battling qualities and brute strength in abundance, the training performance deserves a special mention.
Here is a horse turning 11 in six weeks, one coming off a 10-month absence due to a fractured shoulder, but he was primed and ready to see off the bright young thing in the British staying chase division, taking his Haydock record to five from six.
Grey Dawning enhanced his reputation in defeat, his mistake at the last the race-defining incident. Had he winged it he would probably have won – he traded at 1/16 in-running on Betfair - and the way he moved into the contest to lay down his challenge marks him out as a major player in this league.
Understandably, the result had little effect on the Cheltenham Gold Cup betting. You wouldn’t back Royale Pagaille for a Gold Cup unless Cheltenham was swallowed up and the race was moved to Haydock, while Grey Dawning’s runner-up finish left him largely unchanged at around 16/1.
He remains the only Brit in a sea of Irish equine talent at the top and middle of the Gold Cup market and that looks about right until he or something else proves otherwise. But at the very least the Skeltons have a horse to go to war with against the Irish cream.
More Gold Cup horses are out on Sunday in the John Durkan including reigning champion and two-time winner Galopin Des Champs, but win, lose or draw it looks unlikely too much will change in the Cheltenham market.
Indeed, while all eyes have been on the Gold Cup contingent it’s the Champion Hurdle crew who have generated more discussion this week, whether they were running or not.
A bruising in a pastern is the latest ailment for Constitution Hill, while a stone bruise for Lossiemouth ruled her out of the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle. With both at home in their boxes Nicky Henderson’s horse is now 5/1 with Coral and Ladbrokes for the Champion Hurdle, while Lossiemouth is the favourite across the board and as short as 15/8.
Out on the track, though, another mare threw her hat into the Champion Hurdle ring with Brighterdaysahead battling back to see off reigning champion State Man in a thrilling renewal of the Morgiana.
It was always going to be interesting to see how Jack Kennedy approached this tactically on the tight inner track at Punchestown, the 2m 148 yard trip hardly looking to her benefit against a renowned two-miler like State Man.
He took the bull by the horns and utilised Brighterdaysahead’s stamina with an aggressive ride from the front, her tendency to jump left and clatter through a few of her hurdles not stopping her, although she looked cooked when State Man took the lead before the last.
A scruffy leap didn’t help his momentum, allowing Brighterdaysahead to battle back up his inside and record a rallying three-quarters-of-a-length verdict.
The bookies go 4/1 State Man for the Champion Hurdle and some go the same price about Brighterdaysahead – although she’s generally 6/1 and as big as 7s in a place and it is nice to see a new face amongst the Champion Hurdle contenders.
Whether she can win one, I’m sceptical. This could be her day over hurdles, a day when she had race fitness on her side against a horse who was just starting out for the campaign.
Her hurdling technique doesn’t look slick enough yet to mount a serious challenge for Cheltenham and, of course, the lure of the Mares’ Hurdle at the Festival could prove too strong. That’s probably the race for her over 2m4f and it won’t surprise anyone she’s 5/2 (at best) favourite for that contest.
She announced herself in the Morgiana, however, and whatever happens over hurdles this season she’s the brightest of prospects for Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown as she builds up the experience ahead of her switch to fences.
With all that in mind – the Mares’ option for the Morgiana winner, the defeat of State Man, the Constitution Hill saga - you can see why Lossiemouth has found herself Champion Hurdle favourite.
And as her owner Rich Ricci celebrated his 100th Grade One winner with Royale Pagaille at a damp and dank Haydock, nobody would blame him for thinking of brighter days ahead.
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