If Zabana is to put it up to Thistlecrack & Co in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March he has to prove himself a worthy contender in the Lexus Chase.
That makes it something of a D-Day moment for the Andy Lynch-trained star.
Or perhaps D-Day + 1 will always be more apt for this horse.
The original D-Day was last season’s JLT at the Cheltenham festival. Lynch had Zabana primed. Months of work and preparation had gone into getting him to the start in peak shape.
And then at the start Zabana jinked, collided with another runner, and jockey Davy Russell wound up unshipped.
Practically every other permutation had been factored for, but not that.
For many it was the image of Cheltenham 2016, Russell fuming at the start and Lynch in the stands pondering what might have been.
It’s why Zabana’s subsequent Grade One consolation at the Punchestown festival became one of the feel-good stories of the year.
Russell is used to top-flight success. For 70-year-old Lynch it was a novel experience. And he hopes it won’t prove to be a Grade One once-off.
When it comes to top chasers, everything inevitably gets viewed through the Gold Cup prism but no one’s going to let a Lexus pass by either and Lynch believes the star performer in his tiny eight-horse stable is ready for the big-race fray.
“He has improved every year and I think he has improved again this year. We’ll see now if he can get to them in the Lexus,” he says, relieved to see ground conditions that aren’t too testing.
Cruising speed
“He’ll go on soft but not heavy; he’s too good-actioned for that. What he has is a good cruising speed and he keeps going. Then, if they haven’t gone too mad, he picks up. And he’ll love three miles. Now it’s down to if he’s good enough – simple as that,” Lynch adds.
A life in racing means few realise more than the Co Meath-based trainer that ultimately it does come down to simply being good enough – given a fair start, of course.
Principally Lynch found that out spending 24 years as travelling head man for the former champion trainer Noel Meade.
Travelling horses can be a tiring, time-consuming business, with long and unsocial hours. Prior to the country’s motorway development there was also the stress of trying to negotiate one’s way around bad roads.
Lynch eventually gave it up but owner, Chris Jones, a friend from hunting with the Ward Union, wasn’t going to let all that expertise go to waste.
He has six of the eight horses Lynch trains and in Zabana they have a true Grade One animal.
The flat bred horse who raced eight times on the level as a three year old developed into a hurdler good enough to finish runner-up in Cheltenham’s Coral Cup in 2015 and still seems to be progressing as a chaser.
“I’ve had him since he was a three year old so I know when he’s right,” said Lynch, pinpointing perhaps one of the benefits of a small string in that nothing gets missed.
A first start of the season at Down Royal behind Sub Lieutenant didn’t set the world on fire but three weeks later Zabana ran out a ready winner at Gowran and with those runs under his belt he is primed to take on some of the best staying chasers in Ireland.
It is the trainer’s lot that they are the “go-to” person for everyone else. With the privilege of having your name on the licence comes the responsibility of carrying the can when things don’t go to plan.
It is a responsibility that many find weighs them down. Experience appears to help Lynch carry it lightly.
“Nobody wants to get anything wrong but it happens. It’s what happens with horses. You do wind up blaming yourself sometimes but there’s no point. All you can do is your best and then see what happens,” he says.
What happens in the Lexus could dictate the course of the rest of this season with Zabana. If he can mix with Djakadam, Valseur Lido & Co, then a return to Cheltenham and a tilt at the Gold Cup could be on the cards.
And that really would be a D-Day to relish.
