Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase (Grade 1)

THE 2023 Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase couldn’t have been described as a vintage renewal but it will go down in the history books as having witnessed an outstanding achievement thanks to the heroics of Feronily - a first Grade 1 winner for Emmet Mullins, Donagh Meyler and Paul Byrne.

If ever a result summed up the rare talents of those involved with the Getaway six-year-old, this was it.

The 10-length debut point-to-point winner in November sensationally progressed from bumpers to novice hurdles to senior chases and Grade 1 novice chase success in the space of five and a half months.

It looked an audacious move to campaign the six-year-old in senior company for his chasing debut at Cork on Easter Sunday when third behind Bachasson and Chacun Pour Soi, but that experience stood him in excellent stead for a crack at largely exposed staying novice chasers in this Grade 1 prize.

He jumped soundly and galloped resolutely to fend off all comers for a gritty win over Appreciate It by a length and three quarters, returning at 7/1 (from 12/1).

Mullins said: “When we bought him as a five-year-old [for £45,000], people said he was too old. We’ve run him in bumpers, hurdles and chases this season, now he’s won a Grade 1, and he’s a young horse again. It’s funny how the wheel turns sometimes. He’s progressing with each run and is an exciting horse to have.

Proficient jumping

“We felt going chasing was always going to work. His work was always good and that’s why he was campaigned highly in bumpers. I can’t exactly say we schooled him excessively. He schooled the morning he was declared for his first chase at Cork and the morning before the race. He hasn’t seen a fence since Cork.

“Soft ground I think is the key to him and it was as quick as he’d want it today. Donagh was very good at dragging the sting out of the other horses. I’m delighted to give him that winner because he’s been a big part of our team for the last year or so. I don’t know where we go from here but he’s definitely a staying chaser.”

Meyler added: “It’s unbelievable to get a Grade 1 winner. It’s kind of been a monkey on my back for a long time so I’m over the moon with this.

“He had an unusual prep but you’d be a foolish man second-guessing Emmet Mullins.”