The two-mile title-holder Marine Nationale confirmed his status at the top of the division with a superb victory in the €300,000 William Hill Champion Chase on day one of the Punchestown Festival on Tuesday.
Having supplied Cheltenham with its most poignant scenes shortly after the death of his former jockey Michael O’Sullivan, Marine Nationale stepped firmly into the spotlight by completing the big festival double in style.
Seán Flanagan again did the steering on Barry Connell’s star, who wound up beating Captain Guinness by seven lengths with Solness in third. The 11-10 favourite Fact To File never travelled like a winner in his first start at two miles and struggled home last of the four finishers.
If the outcome vindicated Marine Nationale’s championship status, it was also a welcome slice of normality on a particularly fraught opening day of the festival for those placing their faith in the form book.
Marine Nationale’s Punchestown win has Barry Connell already dreaming of Champion Chase hat-trick
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Willie Mullins targeting big domestic finale at Punchestown with British title under his belt
Punchestown’s slot at the end of a long campaign means it has a long history of providing surprises and there was a particularly silly season feel to some of Tuesday’s results.
Willie Mullins saddled the first four in the Grade One KPMG Novice Hurdle, but it was the heavy odds-on Cheltenham winner Kopek Des Bordes that trailed home last of them behind his 18-1 stable companion Irancy.
The champion trainer subsequently had the first two in the Dooley Champion Novice Chase, except it was the 22-1 outsider of his five runners, Champ Kiely, that emerged on top of an incident-packed race.
In fact, for much of the programme, spectacular sunny weather was about the only consolation for punters.
The opening two races went to 22-1 and 50-1 shots and although Mullins completed a hat-trick, his third winner, Wonderful Everyday, was the 16-1 outsider of his four runners in the valuable Goffs Bumper. The Mullins three-timer paid a whopping 7,428-1.
If left Marine Nationale as a rare piece of form logic, even if the market didn’t reflect it. Fact To File didn’t spark, but his stable companion El Fabiolo looked a real threat until a dramatic fall at the second last. Ultimately, though, the winner justified his owner-trainer’s reasoning.
Connell’s faith in his stable star has never wavered and not only is he looking forward to a title defence at Cheltenham next March, he’s anticipating a Champion Chase hat-trick in 2027.
The Dublin businessman witnessed the sole ever triple-two mile champion Badsworth Boy complete the feat 40 years ago and is convinced Marine Nationale can emulate him.
“He’s 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 and equal Badsworth Boy, who is the only horse in history to win three despite all of the storied horses over the years,” Connell said.
“This is the horse of a lifetime and we are going to mind him and you’ll see him back in Cheltenham next year. He won’t be 10-1 like he was this morning!” he added.
The Mullins bandwagon rolled into the festival start, although hardly stopping where expected.
Irancy had trailed well behind Kopek Des Bordes and Salvator Mundi at Cheltenham, but having scored at Fairyhouse in the interim he was ready to pounce on a frantic early pace set by his better-fancied stable companions and kick the form book firmly into touch.
Once again Ballyburn flattered to deceive in the Grade One novice chase as Danny Mullins picked up the pieces, easing Champ Kiely through to ultimately win with some authority. It was a third Grade One victory in nine days for the rider on one of his uncle’s second or third strings.
Behind them were Lecky Watson who fell at the fifth, bringing down his stable companion Impaire Et Passe, while Mullins’s other starter Il Atlantique crashed out at the 10th.
“With all the hard luck we had in the race between fallers and a horse being brought down it was great to see Danny getting into the picture at the third last and I said this fella has a chance if Ballyburn doesn’t stay in front. Ballyburn just didn’t jump well enough on the day,” Mullins said.
Even in the bright sunshine it was a gloomy festival start for punters with the 22-1 winner of the first, Transprint, followed by Buy Some Time at 50-1 in the Albert Bartlett Series Final.
The latter was a career highlight success for the Scottish father and son team of Mike and Ben Smith and when another cross-channel raider, Ascending Lark, won the following handicap, it had wags referring to a brief British lead in a Punchestown equivalent to Cheltenham’s Prestbury Cup – a Kildare Cup perhaps!
Bud Fox in the concluding bumper also justified some market strength, the point-to-point winner scoring under Derek O’Connor.
The official day one festival crowd of 17,842 was an almost 1,500 increase on the equivalent 2024 figure of 16,361.
There were two equine fatalities on the Tuesday programme. The English runner Kilta sustained fatal injuries in a fall at the first flight of the Albert Bartlett Series Final. Paddy Twomey’s Eagle Of Destiny was pulled up in the straight when contending for the lead in the concluding bumper and was euthanised.
Watering began again at Punchestown after racing on Tuesday evening.
