Image © Healy Racing
Three of the top four horses in the ante-post market for the Cheltenham Foxhunters are set to clash in what is sure to be a particularly informative renewal of the Bar 1 Betting Hunters Chase at Down Royal on St. Stephen’s Day.
Three of the top four horses in the ante-post market for the Cheltenham Foxhunters are set to clash in what is sure to be a particularly informative renewal of the Bar 1 Betting Hunters Chase at Down Royal on St. Stephen’s Day.
Con’s Roc, The Goffer and Its On The Line are among the 16 declared runners, with Terence O’Brien’s eight-year-old bidding to already secure a second hunter chase victory of the season following his impressive 17-length triumph at Fairyhouse last month.
Never out of the first two in six career starts to date, including a defeat of the Cheltenham Festival third Willitgoahead at the Limerick Christmas festival 12 months ago.
With regular rider Darragh Allen in the plate, he will arguably face his stiffest test to date with the 134-rated chaser The Goffer amongst his opponents.
Appearing in a hunter chase for the first time, the former Dublin Racing Festival scorer was able to defeat Solitary Man is an taking effort at Umma House before only finding Desertmore House too strong in the Risk Of Thunder over the Punchestown cross-country course.
He is one of two horses attempting to give his trainer Gordon Elliott a third victory in the race following the success of Lydon House in 2008 and Oscar Barton in 2014, with Willitogoahead also set to feature for what will be his seasonal re-appearance.
The seven-year-old joined the Meath trainer from Sean Doyle’s yard after winning a Thurles Hunter Chase, but after finishing third at Cheltenham, the effects of a busy season caught up with him at the Aintree and Punchestown festivals in the spring.
The 2023 winner Its On The Line will have the assistance of Derek O’Connor in the saddle as he lines up in the race a third straight year and having blown away the cobwebs at Ballindenisk last month, he will be bidding to go one place better than his second in the race 12 months ago behind Big Interest.
The latter will bid to defend his crown, although he does have to bounce back from two underwhelming efforts this season and has been abandoned by regular rider Barry O’Neill.
He favours the four-time point winner My Life Be Like, the second of two runners in the race for David Christie, who has won this particular contest four times in the last 15 years.
The 2021 winning trainer Stuart Crawford relies upon the Cheltenham sixth Carnfunnock, who gained a notable scalp on his return to action in Curraghmore, and his owners Largy Bloodstock, are also represented by City Chief, who will be a first runner under rules for Cormac Abernethy.
The hat-trick seeking Cadoudal Saint, Fairyhouse Hunter Chase third Fountain House, plus the Tinahely first and third Galon De Vauzelle and Asphalt Cowboy, are among the 16 declared runners, with three reserves also having been declared.
Ground conditions on the chase course at Down Royal were reported as Good to Yielding, Yielding in places on Tuesday morning, and there has been a minor course alteration with the third-last fence being re-positioned.
It will now be jumped before the home bend in a bid to avoid issues with low-lying sun, an issue which affected the course last month.
