RACING:IT'S A case of deja vu at Punchestown ahead of Sunday's clash of the two-mile titans, Sizing Europe and Big Zeb in the Tied Cottage Chase, as almost five miles of frost covers were laid on the track yesterday to protect the course from the current cold-snap.
A succession of nights where temperatures are forecast to dip as low as minus four have forced the Punchestown authorities to reach for covers that were first used in Ireland for the Boylesports Tied Cottage Chase meeting last year.
The covers, which are provided by Bord Na Móna and businesswoman Rita Shah who owns Shabra Plastics, will again cover a 10-metre strip on both the hurdles and chase tracks which are two miles in circumference each. With a number of other areas on the track covered also, there will be almost five miles of plastic covering on the course.
“It’s a big job and it takes a day for a team of up to 20 people to get them down,” Punchestown’s manager Richie Galway said yesterday.
“We are putting them down now because there’s no point putting them down after the frosts begin.”
Temperatures are expected to dip sharply this week, just as they did last year when only the covers allowed the fixture go ahead. The move was regarded as a big success in 2011 and this is the first time since then that the move has been repeated.
“We are being told to expect three nights where it could get as low as minus four with daytime temperatures getting up to only about plus two. Temperatures are expected to rise dramatically on Saturday, going into Sunday, so what we are doing now is purely precautionary. But there is a slight concern about what might happen if that rise doesn’t occur,” Galway said.
There would be considerable disappointment if Sunday’s €40,000 Grade Two feature didn’t go ahead as it is scheduled to host another contest between the top two-mile chasers in these islands.
The last two winners of the Queen Mother Champion Chase clashed last year when they finished behind the ill-fated Golden Silver.
Sizing Europe relieved Big Zeb of his two-mile crown at Cheltenham in March, although Colm Murphy’s veteran star gained his revenge subsequently at the Punchestown Festival.
Both Irish stars dominate the ante-post betting for this year’s Champion Chase and Sunday could be a mouth-watering taste of what is to come at the festival despite both camps expressing the view that heavy ground won’t be ideal.
“Ideally, we would need better ground but we are going to stick to the same plan as last year. We will run on Sunday and then on to Cheltenham and finally back to the Champion Chase at the Punchestown Festival, all going well,” said Big Zeb’s trainer Colm Murphy.
“Big Zeb is now an 11-year-old but he can’t count so we’re alright on that front!”
Sunday will be Sizing Europe’s first start since an impressive Tingle Creek success at Sandown and his trainer Henry De Bromhead said yesterday: “We were delighted with his Tingle Creek as it is recognised as a true two-mile test.” He added: “Obviously we would prefer better ground on Sunday, but we are sticking to the same route as last season.”
Just half a dozen entries were left in the Tied Cottage at yesterday’s five-day forfeit stage and the big two dominate.
The next highest rated is Scotsirish who also holds an entry in the Cross-Country Chase on the same card.
A dozen entries remain in the Grade Two Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle on Sunday and they include a trio from Willie Mullins’s yard as the champion trainer attempts to secure a third victory in four years in the two-mile event.
Most interesting of the Mullins hopes could be Terminal, a prolific winner in his native France, who made a winning debut in Ireland at Navan last month.
The Banks King Enda Bolger has four remaining in the Cross-Country Chase including the veteran pair of Garde Champetre and Heads Onthe Ground.
However, the cross-country track could be vulnerable to the weather with it being wide open to the elements this week.
