Never has a championship felt so bittersweet as Marine Nationale’s Queen Mother Champion Chase success on Wednesday and surely never have the fates aligned so powerfully at Cheltenham.
The horse memorably guided to glory by the late Michael O’Sullivan in the 2023 Supreme Novice Hurdle returned to the festival to fulfil his destiny and lift the two-mile crown.
Then, in the very next race, the Grand Annual Chase, Jazzy Matty, the horse that completed a famous O’Sullivan double on that memorable opening day two years ago also scored in the most poignant of circumstances.
It ensured evocative memories swept around Cheltenham less than four weeks after O’Sullivan’s tragic death from injuries sustained in a fall at Thurles last month.
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The 24-year-old jockey’s girlfriend, Charlotte Giles, and his brother, Alan, were present as not for the first time the Cheltenham winner’s enclosure became a poignant jumble of conflicting emotions.
It risks a misstep towards the pat, but fate almost seemed to demand it, particularly with Marine Nationale’s victory in the day two festival highlight. Both horse and rider are destined to be always linked.
When the odds-on favourite Jonbon ruined his chance with a shuddering error at the fifth last, and as the former dual-winner Energumene raced too flamboyantly for his own good, the eye kept being drawn towards Barry Connell’s yellow colours.
Veteran rider Seán Flanagan was almost motionless as Marine Nationale swept into the straight alongside the outsider Quilixios. When the latter fell at the last all threat fell away too.
Connell’s appreciation of O’Sullivan’s talents and personality remained intact after their professional split in November. At the jockey’s funeral, his family made a point of wishing Marine Nationale every success at Cheltenham.
The widely felt mixed emotions were written on the Dubliner’s face in the winner’s enclosure.
“It’s very poignant and very raw, the whole thing with Michael over the last three or four weeks has been horrible, horrible,” Connell said.
“My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his girlfriend, Charlotte, is here and was with us saddling up the horse. Everybody in racing has come together for Michael and I hope this is a fitting tribute to him. This is a magical creature, to get one like him you just pinch yourself.
“It’s an absolute tragedy that he’s left us, but he has a record he can be really proud of. He achieved more in his lifetime than a lot of riders who get to ride for a lot longer achieve,” he added.
Flanagan enjoyed the biggest success of his career, but one person was at the forefront of his mind too.
“All the jockeys in the world have been under a cloud for the last couple of weeks,” he said. “I’m only the man that steered him around, Michael’s the man who made him what he is. He’ll never be forgotten.”
Given a chance to regather his energies after the blunder, Jonbon rallied from an impossible position to take the runner-up spot, 18 lengths behind. It was an unhappy race for the English star who didn’t appreciate a false start.
“I would say there was a stride there [at five out], but I think he might have lost his sight slightly and he decided to chip in and didn’t think it was there,” jockey Nico de Boinville said. “He is some horse to manage to finish where he did.”
Danny Gilligan did the steering on Jazzy Matty, who won the Juvenile Hurdle in 2023, and completed a rare festival double over fences. The 15-2 shot was a length and a half too good for Unexpected Party.
It was a first Cheltenham success for one of the rising stars in Ireland’s training ranks, Cian Collins.
“We’ve actually been talking about it for the last week or so - ‘could it ever happen?’ - and I think it’s absolutely crazy that it did happen.
“I said to Alan O’Sullivan there that things like this don’t happen too often, so someone is definitely looking down on us today,” he said.
“I think we all know there is someone very special looking down on us today, especially with Marine Nationale winning the last race race,” Gilligan said. “I had a dream run around and never missed a beat.”
