THE Bective Stud, Tea Rooms & Apartments Handicap Hurdle at Navan is perhaps the sternest stamina test over hurdles in Ireland, run over an extended three miles and one furlong at a stiff track on ground that is typically soft.

There are other tracks that host hurdle races over further than three miles, but many are summer tracks like Galway, Sligo and Kilbeggan, and the specific circumstances last Saturday meant a stiff test became an extreme one.

The going was soft-heavy at the start of racing, but it rained during the card. This race was the fifth on the hurdles track of the day, so the ground was well chewed-up at that point.

The pace was also stronger than ideal. Timmy Tuesday and Ottizzini made the running early and went a fast pace for conditions, both eventually pulled up, while Fascile Mode took it up as they faded, himself paying the price late as he faded into sixth.

For context, the time from three out was 10.4 seconds slower than the next slowest hurdles race on the card, a huge difference.

Few horses can handle such a slog but the winner Gringo D’Aubrelle was one of them and he got a fine ride from Michael Kenneally. He was rousted along at the start to take a decent early position, before moving gradually forward mid-race, his rider switching down the inner in the second half of the race to find some slightly better ground.

Potential

He got hampered a couple of times by a loose horse but stayed on well late and remains with potential, especially over fences where he is rated just 113, for all that this was very much the target, gambled on and representing the sponsor.

The runner-up Koori Star was reverting from fences and saw out the three miles much better than he did when trying it at Leopardstown last Christmas, his yard in better form now, while the third Buachaillbocht overcame some hampering and errant hurdling to put in a promising start to his season. He could be suited by a marathon trip over fences.

One that wants to come down in trip is the fifth Paddy’s Milestone. A winner over shorter at the same track in November, he raced keenly but travelled well down the hill and just didn’t get home.

Bigger patterns

This Saturday meeting was a microcosm of some bigger patterns that have been playing out with the bigger yards over the last few weeks.

Many of the Gordon Elliott runners have been improving a lot for their first run back. Gringo D’Aubrelle was one but so was maiden hurdle winner Road Exile who looked a much sharper horse than at Down Royal and should be suited by further than the two miles he got here.

Search For Glory was beaten by stablemate Down Memory Lane in the listed handicap chase, but this was a big step up on his run in the Troytown and the way he went suggested a return to three miles would suit, outpaced down the hill but rallying well despite racing off the rail.

All five of his wins have come right-handed, but his last five runs have come at left-handed tracks which may be significant. The Thyestes might be his race.

Kala Conti and Kazansky were other winners with this profile at Cork on Sunday and again it is worth considering the Elliott horses from the weekend that were making their first start back and may improve for the outing.

Lynches Knock shaped well on his first run of any type in the academy hurdle, one of several hampered early then caught down the inner in the straight while going well, finishing off nicely when switched and finally getting a clear run.

With Nolimit was an uneasy favourite in the bumper, and shaped as if the run was needed, travelling well for most of the contest and involved in the race until fading late.

Mullins success

The different success rates for the Willie Mullins novice chasers and maiden hurdlers were again in evidence. The ones starting out over fences continue to hum, Predators Gold returning from a 582-day absence to beat the 147-rated Slade Steel, giving the trainer a sixth beginners’ chase winner since November 16th, all of them looking up to graded class.

The Mullins runners in maiden hurdles, on the other hand, seem to have been much more in need of the outing. Since the start of November, Mullins is five winners from 19 runners in these races with the fives horses beaten at 11/8 or shorter.

In light of this, Copacabana ran a big race to finish second to the race-fit Road Exile, the pair clear of the third, but more broadly this is no cause for concern, rather a reaction from the trainer to the programme book.

Prospective chasers simply need to be out early as the opportunities for them to run in beginners’ chases soon dry up; in the 2025/26 season there were 14 beginners’ chase run in November, the number dropping to nine in both December and January with just six in February.

For maiden hurdlers, there are many more opportunities. There were 29 maiden hurdles in November this season with 23 more in December while in January, typically a quiet month for meetings, there are 32 maiden hurdles.

Even February has 23 such races so there is time enough to win one before going on to better things.