On cue the start of November brings both rain and the first Grade One of the National Hunt season so it's hardly coincidental that Boston Bob looks to have the perfect credentials to provide Willie Mullins with JNwine Champion Chase glory at Down Royal this afternoon.
The champion jumps trainer pitches in the two top-rated horses, Boston Bob and On His Own, against quality opposition which includes the cross-channel pair, Rocky Creek and Ma Filleule.
Only the Galway Plate winner Road To Riches and the top hunter Tammys Hill have run already this season but it’s encouraging for Boston Bob fans that he has a record of winning first-time out and that he looked transformed at the end of last term with wins at Aintree and Punchestown.
That means he is already as low as 12-1 to break Mullins’s frustrating run of luck in the Cheltenham Gold Cup – a run that reached a nadir with On His Own’s miss last season.
Domestic dominance
But it is also a sign of Mullins’s domestic dominance that he already tops the trainer’s table with over 50 winners and over half-a-million in prizemoney without coming close to risking his better performers due to quick ground conditions.
That's starting to change with the weather and nine declarations this weekend also include Felix Yonger in tomorrow's Grade Three Naas feature, as well as a first jumps start for the ex-John Gosden trained Group Three performer Nichols Canyon at Cork.
Today’s Grade Two Powers Whiskey Chase has Paul Nicholls’s Wonderful Charm among just four runners.
Since Britain’s champion trainer has won the race for the last half-dozen years, his presence is a tip in itself but he is up against genuine Grade One performers in Carlingford Lough and Don Cossack this time and the latter has an encouraging run under his belt already this season.
A Decent Excuse could provide local trainer Eugene O'Sullivan with a popular success in tomorrow's €50,000 Cork Grand National and his jockey Adrian Heskin will also fancy his chances aboard Martello Tower in the Grade Three novice hurdle.
The Barry Connell-owned horse won his maiden at Killarney in May and shapes like stepping up to three miles could see significant improvement.
On ratings Moscow Mannon is a standout in the Poplar Square Chase at Naas but Felix Yonger is a class act at his best and runs well fresh.
