FOUND A FIFTY held on to his title with a decisive triumph in the Fortria Chase at Navan on Monday.
The eight-year-old took the Grade Two event by a neck from Solness last term, but though a subsequent step up to two-and-a-half miles was a success, it seemed three miles was a bridge too far for him on debut this year.
He was dropped back to two miles at Navan under Jack Kennedy, where he started at 5-2 in a reduced field due to the soft to heavy ground which caused the rescheduling of the race from Saturday to Monday.
The going made the contest a real battle and eventually it was Found A Fifty who proved up to the task, coming home five lengths ahead of the Willie Mullins-trained 11-8 favourite Dinoblue as her stablemate Hercule Du Seuil was back in third.
Later, Kopek Des Bordes lived up to the considerable expectation around his debut over fences when taking the Pat Sheils Memorial Irish EBF Beginners Chase.
The Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old was twice a Grade One winner last season, taking novice hurdles at Leopardstown and Cheltenham before a fourth-placed run in the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.
He was the 2-9 favourite under Paul Townend to get his chasing career off to a winning start, and those odds looked more and more reasonable as he travelled round Navan.
Jumping neatly and making matters look very simple throughout, the gelding strolled to a five-length victory to cement his credentials for the Arkle Chase at Cheltenham.
Mullins’ pencilled-in plans include Leopardstown over Christmas, the Dublin Racing Festival and the Cheltenham Festival, with the trainer saying: “That would look a sort of a plan at this minute – that will be route ‘A’ anyway.”
Colonel Mustard has been such a star for his team and the 10yo lands his biggest-ever prize in the €50,000 Railway Bar Lismullen Hurdle 👏 @FowlerStudpic.twitter.com/o1qn6Cjbhw
Also at Navan, Lorna Fowler’s Colonel Mustard proved he was the toughest horse in the field as he took the rescheduled Lismullen Hurdle.
The popular chestnut was a 12-1 shot under John Shinnick for the Grade Two, as Gordon Elliott’s The Yellow Clay dominated the market as the 8-15 favourite.
Colonel Mustard handled the soft-to-heavy conditions better than any other when prevailing by two and three-quarter lengths from the favourite.
“The plan is to go for the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot,” Fowler said afterwards. “That was always the plan coming here and the idea was that if he could stay two and a half (miles) on heavy ground, then he should be able to stay three miles.”
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Found A Fifty defends Fortria title, Kopek Des Bordes dazzles on chasing bow
FOUND A FIFTY held on to his title with a decisive triumph in the Fortria Chase at Navan on Monday.
The eight-year-old took the Grade Two event by a neck from Solness last term, but though a subsequent step up to two-and-a-half miles was a success, it seemed three miles was a bridge too far for him on debut this year.
He was dropped back to two miles at Navan under Jack Kennedy, where he started at 5-2 in a reduced field due to the soft to heavy ground which caused the rescheduling of the race from Saturday to Monday.
The going made the contest a real battle and eventually it was Found A Fifty who proved up to the task, coming home five lengths ahead of the Willie Mullins-trained 11-8 favourite Dinoblue as her stablemate Hercule Du Seuil was back in third.
Later, Kopek Des Bordes lived up to the considerable expectation around his debut over fences when taking the Pat Sheils Memorial Irish EBF Beginners Chase.
The Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old was twice a Grade One winner last season, taking novice hurdles at Leopardstown and Cheltenham before a fourth-placed run in the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown.
He was the 2-9 favourite under Paul Townend to get his chasing career off to a winning start, and those odds looked more and more reasonable as he travelled round Navan.
Jumping neatly and making matters look very simple throughout, the gelding strolled to a five-length victory to cement his credentials for the Arkle Chase at Cheltenham.
Mullins’ pencilled-in plans include Leopardstown over Christmas, the Dublin Racing Festival and the Cheltenham Festival, with the trainer saying: “That would look a sort of a plan at this minute – that will be route ‘A’ anyway.”
Also at Navan, Lorna Fowler’s Colonel Mustard proved he was the toughest horse in the field as he took the rescheduled Lismullen Hurdle.
The popular chestnut was a 12-1 shot under John Shinnick for the Grade Two, as Gordon Elliott’s The Yellow Clay dominated the market as the 8-15 favourite.
Colonel Mustard handled the soft-to-heavy conditions better than any other when prevailing by two and three-quarter lengths from the favourite.
“The plan is to go for the Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot,” Fowler said afterwards. “That was always the plan coming here and the idea was that if he could stay two and a half (miles) on heavy ground, then he should be able to stay three miles.”
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