Expert Analysis

Despite the official description of good to soft going, I would strongly suggest that the ground was actually on the faster side of good. The times on the day certainly support this supposition. Old Park Star produced the quickest time of the three hurdle races on the card.

OLD PARK STAR The first two horses to jump the first hurdle also finished in the first two places. This became a familiar pattern in the hurdle races over the first three days.

Old Park Star tracked the pace-setting Sober Glory throughout and then took advantage after that one made a mess of the final hurdle. He was slightly quicker than Lossiemouth from their respective first hurdles to the winning post. In addition, he matched the Champion Hurdle winners’ time from the last to the line and was only just behind her when comparing the pair from three out to the post.

SOBER GLORY After making all the running he appeared to be in control when a couple of lengths clear and still travelling well on the approach to the final hurdle. Unfortunately for him he saved his only mistake for the last and lost all momentum in the process. It is to his credit that he managed to renew his challenge and retake the runner up spot close to the line despite having also been bumped into the rails half way up the final hill.

MYDADDYPADDY I would suggest we can mark him up for being the only one of the front three to make up ground in the closing stages. The first three horses drew well clear of what looked like a very good field. I suspect this will turn out to be a very strong renewal of the Supreme Hurdle.

BARON NOIR Three of the Irish contenders were touted as being high class novices by their respective connections on the approach to the festival. Consequently, I would imagine they must all be disappointed to finish well beaten by the first three home and also behind the fourth horse who carried a rating of just 130. The pre-festival optimism of the connections of Baron Noir was well founded with an excellent performance from this improving novice. One would also have to suggest that he might have been very interesting in a big handicap off his attractive looking mark.

EL CAIROS If we chose to ignore all of the pre-festival hype surrounding this horse then I would suggest he has performed well in what might turn out to be a hot renewal of the opening race. With all three of the Irish-trained hotpots finishing well beaten, one has to consider if the switch from a very soft surface in Ireland this season to this much quicker ground will be viewed as a major factor.

TOO BOSSY FOR US Considering how keen he was in the early stages and also how wide he was taken, I believe his connections will be very happy with his finishing position. His 50/1 odds and the lack of hype attached to him strongly suggests he was not viewed as being in the same league as his stable mate Mighty Park. Willie Mullins obviously has plenty of novices to consider and Too Bossy For Us’ presence in the Supreme line-up looked more to do with building experience for another day.

TALK THE TALK Considering the strong pace set in this race I felt most of the participants jumped especially well on the whole. Talk The Talk lacked fluency over the fourth hurdle and generally seemed to be running a stride faster than he was comfortable with before dropping away from the third last hurdle. His connections apparently toyed with the idea of keeping him for the Turners’; and maybe they wished they had gone for the longer race given how quick the ground was in comparison to the official description.

MIGHTY PARK The Turners’ was also mentioned as an option for Mighty Park quite close to the festival. Patrick Mullins stated post-race that he felt maybe the faster conditions found him out over the minimum trip and I would concur with this view. Perhaps his lack of experience also played a part in him racing keenly in the early stages before dropping right away soon after the second last hurdle. It will be fascinating to see how the three main Irish-trained novices fare the next time we see them compete on a softer surface.