Racing's romantic 'little guy' stories are increasingly rare but Flemenstar and his trainer Tony Curran will hope some unlikely Grade One lightening can strike twice in today's Betfair Ascot Chase.
How the veteran 11-year-old star supplied Curran with a first winner as a trainer in a Leopardstown Grade One was one of the Christmas feelgood stories and presuming it to have been Flemenstar’s last-hurrah at the top level could prove dangerous.
Only Felix Yonger subsequently got the better for Flemenstar in the Tied Cottage at Punchestown; just Silviniaco Conti and Dynaste are slightly ahead of the Irish raider on official figures for the Ascot feature."Two miles around Punchestown is just a little bit sharp for him these days. Two-miles-five around Ascot should be ideal and for a Grade One it's probably an easier option than going to Cheltenham, " said his jockey, Andrew Lynch.
“At his height he was rated in the 170s. He’s after dropping down, but he’s still a very good horse,” he added.
Now family-owned and trained, Flemenstar remains Tony Curran’s sole winner to date and very soft conditions at Ascot will help the chances of continuing a noteworthy strike-rate at the top level.
“It’s an away game for us, with the travel and everything else, but we felt it better to let him take his chance now while the ground is right, rather than waiting for Cheltenham when the ground might be gone,” Curran explained ahead of a contest that hasn’t been won by an Irish raider in 20 years.
If the accent is on the proven article at Ascot, there will be an emphasis on the new at Fairyhouse where Willie Mullins introduces a pair of intriguing French imports.
A pair of hurdles victories last Autumn mean Voix Du Reve concedes weight all round on his Irish debut in the Grade Three Winning Fair Juvenile Hurdle and he is currently as low as 16/1 for a Triumph Hurdle in which the Mullins team are already well represented.
Townshend is a very interesting contender for the two and a half mile handicap hurdle. A winner on the flat, and over jumps at Auteuil, last summer, Townshend holds entries in all three novice events at Cheltenham and the fact Mullins gives him his Irish debut in a handicap off 131 is noteworthy.
The Grade Three feature is the ATR Bobbyjo Chase where the finish could be fought out between the two horses without Aintree Grand National entries.
The mare Baie Des Iles will carry a comparative featherweight in the testing conditions and her stamina is assured while Joncol’s half-brother Fine Theatre should handle the ground well on his chasing debut.
