Since he might not even be the best in his own yard, it could be a major exaggeration to describe Vautour as a "horse in a million", but the Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite's reputation appears to be towering enough to push even a million pounds to the sidelines.
More than twice the money for today’s Grade 2 Stella Artois Chase at Ascot is on offer for Haydock’s Grade 1 Betfair Chase, the first leg of a £1 million Triple Crown bonus that British racing has invested a lot of marketing in.
However, the dream that steeplechasing’s best on both sides of the Irish Sea might get lured to Haydock en route to both the King George and Gold Cup doesn’t appear to have worked out. Just a handful line up for a Betfair Chase at Haydock, which must cope with the counter attraction of the most exciting young chaser in the game thrown in too.
No certainty
Any reminder that no horse is a certainty – especially over fences – comes from the memory of Vautour memorably failing at 1-4 last Christmas, his sole defeat in nine starts to date for
Willie Mullins
.
Ireland’s champion trainer has a big weekend ahead with 11 runners in all, culminating in Douvan’s eagerly-anticipated chasing debut at Navan’s Troytown fixture on Sunday, in a race Vautour himself began over fences a year ago.
But there’s no disputing Vautour’s headliner status. After that shock Christmas defeat came two more wins, the second of which had even veteran festival observers scratching their heads as to when Cheltenham had last seen a more spectacular display by a novice.
Vautour’s sauntering 15 length JLT Novices’ Chase demolition of the Grade 1 winners Apache Stronghold and Valseur Lido earned him a stratospheric official rating of 171, just 1lb behind the Gold Cup holder Coneygree, and with the promise of much more to come.
Ruby Walsh has already confessed his love for the Rich Ricci owned star, who is favourite for a potentially vintage Gold Cup field this season that could also include his stable companions Don Poli and Djakadam.
To what extent the champion jockey’s enthusiasm for Vautour, allied to the colossal impression the horse made at Cheltenham, outweighs suspicions about such an obviously brilliant talent ultimately lasting out the Gold Cup trip in March, will hardly be determined at Ascot.
The trip is the same as the JLT and the Irish star gets weight from his main rival Ptit Zig. Vautour should win, and ultimately it may be the style of his performance which arouses most interest.
But despite a short SP, his appearance will still be a must-see of a sort those in charge of the Betfair Chase can probably only envy.
Scintillating
Mullins has half a dozen runners at his local Gowran track today, in a meeting which a year ago saw Douvan make a scintillating Irish debut in a novice hurdle.
Another French import, American Tom, will carry the Ricci colours in the same race this time, while Roi Des Francs is an interesting recruit to fences in a Beginners’ Chase which Don Poli scored in 12 months ago.
However there’s little doubt the most anticipated Beginners’ Chase this weekend, indeed the most anticipated race in Ireland, will be Navan’s on Sunday, where Douvan will push even the €100,00 Ladbrokes Troytown Chase into the margins.
If the strapping five-year-old doesn’t emulate Vautour with a vivid display it will be a major anti-climax since Mullins has made no secret of how he believes Douvan to be as fine a prospect as he’s ever had through his hands.
A Champion Hurdle campaign was touted for Douvan after his four-out-of-four novice career over flights, but this outstanding youngster is being pitched straight over fences and he’s already a 2-1 Arkle favourite in some ante-post lists.
Very testing ground has never appeared to be an issue for Douvan, who has successfully followed a route taken by Vautour last season and can keep up that pattern on his first start over the bigger obstacles.
Bonisland is one of four Troytown hopefuls trained by Gordon Elliott, but it is Gigginstown Stud's other entry, Empire Of Dirt, who can take the major handicap prize.
On the face of it, a horse who has fallen in three of his seven chase starts hardly boasts an encouraging profile. But as a brother to Panther Claw, a combination of testing ground conditions and three miles should bring out the best in Empire Of Dirt.
The Monksfield Novice Hurdle is Navan's Grade 2 black-type feature and Bryan Cooper has chosen the Down Royal winner Cogryhill from the Gigginstown pair, with Davy Russell picking up the ride on Dallas Cowboy.
Intriguing contender
The sole mare, Ten Times Better, is an intriguing contender, as is the impressive Fairyhouse scorer Falcon Crest, who could prefer better going. In the conditions, though, Cooper may have picked correctly.
In other news, Turf Club chief executive Denis Egan has described as "constructive" a meeting with Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney by officials from the integrity body.
The Minister's controversial Horse Racing Ireland Bill is due before a joint-Oireachtas committee in the coming weeks and the Turf Club has told him of their ongoing concerns surrounding revenue streams and regulatory independence.
“The Minister has said he will do what he can to accommodate our concerns without compromising what he wants to achieve, so we are awaiting developments,” Egan said.
