Jessica Harrington has been one of Ireland's leading trainers for over two decades but the victory of her latest Grade 1 star, Our Duke, contained something of a 'little guy' element at Leopardstown on Thursday.
Willie Mullins’s rampant Christmas dominance got interrupted in the Neville Hotels Novice Chase when the 4-1 Our Duke emerged best in a memorable finish with the favourite Coney Island and Disko: and for once there wasn’t a Mullins runner in sight.
Harrington has touched racing’s heights, both on the flat and especially over jumps with Moscow Flyer and Jezki in particular. But she was keen to dismiss any idea that the task of competing with Mullins and elite owners such as Michael O’Leary is overwhelming.
“There’s no point complaining, you’ve got to get on with it, try to get a good one, don’t everyone give up!” she urged, before pointing to Our Duke’s owners, the four-member syndicate from Coolrain in Co. Laois who now own a horse rated a 10-1 shot for RSA glory in Cheltenham.
“They have one mare for breeding and three of her runners have run here this week: not many people have three horses in training and get three for Leopardstown,” Harrington said.
Our Duke looks a horse for just about anywhere as he overcame a series of jumping mistakes to overhaul his rivals in a thrilling finish under jockey Robbie Power. In 2010 the Harrington-Power team won the race en route to RSA success with Bostons Angel.
“Today he had to go in and jump quickly and he made mistakes. But he will have learned plenty. That was probably as good a ground as he’s ever run on and he doesn’t seem to mind it. It’s never going to be quick in Cheltenham because they water it to be good,” the trainer added before confirming Jezki will return to action in next month’s Irish Champion Hurdle.
Alpha Des Obeaux was pulled up in the big novice event and was found to have burst blood vessels.
Willie Mullins failed to collect either Grade 1 prize on the final day of the festival but with a Limerick hat-trick, and a pair of Ruby Walsh ridden winners at Leopardstown – Battleford and Let's Dance – he brought his Christmas haul to 22 victories.
Both horses will have Cheltenham ambitions in March and Let’s Dance was cut to 5-1 for the mares novice hurdle at the festival after an easy Grade 3 success over Slowmotion.
“The mares novice is only two miles and she might go out further in trip. She may go for the mares hurdle even though she’s only a novice. She’s entered in both and looking at that performance she could get three miles,” Mullins said.
The Albert Bartlett may be a target for Battleford who overcame a number of sloppy jumps to repel Coeur Joyeux in the maiden. “He’s so big and strong in himself he can only keep improving,” Mullins added.
JP McManus and Joseph O'Brien combined to land a handicap hurdle with the topweight Exactoris but the day's action was bookended by victories for trainers at very different ends of the experience spectrum.
Every day 80-year-old Patrick Duffy rides out the only horse he trains, Courtncatcher, and he enjoyed the sight of his pride and joy landing his first success over fences in the Opportunity Handicap Chase.
In contrast Robbie McNamara began his training career in July when immediately saddling a couple of winners at Cork. He was back in the winner's enclosure again after Thursday's bumper when Quick Grabim scored impressively under rider Finny Maguire.
There was a sting in the tail for Maguire who picked up a two-day ban for careless riding but it was a hugely encouraging victory for Quick Grabim’s trainer.
“We have 16 bumper horses to come out and will have a lot of bumper horses between now and the end of February. If you have a fiver each-way on the lot of them you won’t be going too bad,” he smiled.
“We’ll take our time with him (Quick Grabim.) The plan before he even ran was the Champion Bumper at Punchestown. I don’t want to go to Cheltenham as he’d be too immature. We have one or two others that might go there!” McNamara added.
