IN ways, Soldier In Milan was a most unusual winner of the Irish Grand National. He made his track debut less than 11 months beforehand, hardly the typical profile for the race, but we have seen this before because it was the third time this decade that the Emmet Mullins/Paul Byrne axis have fast-tracked a horse from bumpers to the upper echelons of Irish staying chases.

Noble Yeats was the first, going from bumper debut to win the 2022 Grand National in less than a year and a half, while Feronily went from bumpers to Grade 1 novice winner in less than four months.

Their successes raise interesting questions about the training and placing of young horses.

Perhaps this approach is unique to Mullins, and it simply wouldn’t work for others, but it does seem surprising that so few others try it.

The logic of the traditional route of bumpers to novice hurdles to novice chases to open races is plain to see as horses are kept in their own grade and races are more winnable in confined company, but it is less clear whether every horse reaches their absolute ceiling in terms of performance.

Traditional route

Some are more precocious than others, and we can consider counterfactuals of novices who were never better than when they were young and may even have been able to compete in open company at that point but seemed to have lost their edge when they got there, the mileage of the traditional route perhaps coming at a cost.

Then there is the longevity question. Noble Yeats ran 12 more times after his Grand National win, including two Grade 2 wins, though Feronily only race twice more. A sample size of two is hardly enough to draw conclusions from, but it is interesting, nonetheless.

As to the race itself, Soldier In Milan was a dominant 16-length winner, the biggest margin of victory this century. Connections voiced concerns about his lack of match practice beforehand but inexperience bedamned as he jumped like an old hand.

His old rival Kiss Will would have given him a race but for falling three out but Soldier In Milan showed such stamina late that it is hard to believe a rival would have outlasted him; all roads likely lead to Aintree next year.

Shaped well

The race was dominated by novices as the first four all fit that profile, and it would have been five but for the fall of Kiss Will.

Plenty of those behind the winner shaped well, though might need to improve their jumping.

The runner-up Showurappreciation did best of those held up. He made a mistake at the first and wasn’t fluent over the early fences before making a more significant mistake at the 15th, hampered by the fall of Kiss Will three out too before staying on well.

The fourth Argento Boy jumped poorly in the middle part of the race and did well to finish as close as he did.

Better Days Ahead filled the same position as last year, sixth, but shaped better than the result, shuffled back down the inner in the third quarter of the race and finding himself with nowhere to go, then keeping on in the straight when badly hampered by a faller at the third last.

C’est Ta Chance, who had form with the winner, made mistakes at key stages late in the race, while both Goraibhmaithagat and Western Walk travelled well for a long way and would prefer to drop back to three miles.

Extra credit to Zanoosh

EASTER Sunday was a day in the sun for the smaller operations, Zanoosh provided what has become a rare Grade 1 win for a syndicate in Ireland.

Since the start of 2020, there have been 213 Grade 1s run in Ireland and just six were won by syndicates, four of them trained by Willie Mullins, one for the O’Connell Morgan Syndicate (Bambino Fever) and three for the Hammer and Trowel Syndicate (various Vegas).

The only other was Skyace for the Birdinthehand Syndicate and Shark Hanlon in same race as Zanoosh back in 2021, mares-only races perhaps providing more chance of living the dream than those open to geldings.

Zanoosh has had a terrific season for Colm Murphy, and if anything deserves extra credit for her success here as she had to show versatility to win. Her previous wins had come on testing ground and over further, but she coped well with this this steadily run race on better drying ground.

Fleur surprise

Her victory was hardly a shock judged on starting price and her run of wins coming into the race, but Fleur In The Park landing the WillowWarm Gold Cup was a surprise to just about everyone, though not his trainer Andrew Slattery who gave clear reasons beforehand why he could improve on his previous form.

This Grade 1 set up well for Fleur In The Park as it was a speed test at the trip, the runners much slower from the first to the line when compared with the novice handicap chase that was before it on the card, but the winner did come from the back of the field and deserves credit for that, allowing that some of his rivals would have preferred a stiffer test.

Top level

Willie Mullins drew a rare black in the Grade 1 races, but Grade 2 novice hurdle winner He’s On Fire looked a top-level performer in the making, sweeping away to win by 12 lengths.

He had an unusual profile for a favourite in an Irish graded race having won a Carlise maiden hurdle beforehand, but he was by far the fastest horse from three out home on the card and looks set for better things.

THE opening maiden hurdle on the Sunday’s card was about the lowest profile race of the three days at Fairyhouse, but it might be one of the better sources of future winners, albeit at a lower level. It looked more competitive than most Irish maiden hurdles beforehand, and so it proved in the race itself, as the runners went a strong gallop, their time comparing well with the other hurdle races on the card, three of them graded races.

The race was won by the most talented runner in the field, Colcannon, as he managed to keep his jumping issues largely in check. The runner-up Brother Walfrid shaped well, coming from off the pace and looking like a stayer.

Forced wide

He raced in mid-division and was taken wide, perhaps for a look at his hurdle on his track debut and got forced wider again by a rival before halfway. He came off the bridle before most but found for pressure to close all the way to the line despite making a mistake two out.

The fourth Midfield Magic was having his first run of any type and caught the eye, travelling well and not knocked about, while Theabsolutegov’nor was a fair bit better than his eighth-place finish. He was making ground through the field coming to three out when he got hampered by one coming back through the field and then was again impeded by a faller.

He made a mistake at the second last but still kept on well, completing the final furlong faster than all bar the first two and this was not cheap gains as he had lost momentum on three occasions before that.