IT was fabulous to see Faugheen win again on Saturday. Fabulous for a number of reasons. By the bare fact that he won again - for the first time since April 2018. That he did so by overcoming a near race-ending jumping error. And now there is the added promise the Machine is set for another captivating chapter in his already illustrious career.
It is a career that attracted adulation from an early stage. A long-term favourite for both the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle and then the Champion Hurdle, Faugheen duly delivered on each of those days, to mass acclaim. Then there was the beginning of a down-up-down-up sequence that has endeared him further to the racing public.
He topped and tailed the 2017-'18 season with brilliant Grade 1 wins at Punchestown but last season he failed to get back into the winner's enclosure. A third placing behind Paisley Park in the Stayers’ Hurdle was a performance that showed he can still operate at the top level but then he was pulled up in the Aintree Hurdle, and you were left thinking, maybe he’s just not at that level any more. 
At the age of 12, winning a Grade 1 in open company is probably going to be very difficult but winning a novice Grade 1 is very much achievable, especially after Saturday's performance. Make no mistake about it, given the extent of the mistake he made at the ditch, this was a huge performance to win as well as he did, right up there with what any other novice chaser has done in Ireland this season.
Punchestown’s decision to move the Morgiana Hurdle to Saturday was a bit unusual and may have ensured a slightly subdued atmosphere but Faugheen’s win will have likely rewarded those present with a highlight. Think of the potential for yet another magical scene if Faugheen does indeed go on a win a Grade 1 this season.
In time, Willie Mullins may be lauded for sending Faugheen chasing but really this is a decision that just makes complete sense. And yet, judging by more than a few Twitter insertions before and after Saturday’s race, some would prefer Faugheen wrapped up in a rug in a lonely field.
This sort of trepidation over National Hunt stars never made any sense to me. It was the same when Kauto Star was pulled up at Punchestown at the end of the 2010-'11 season. The decision to come back with him was condemned in some quarters. It led to this added pressure on Paul Nicholls, a pressure that exploded out of him when the 11-year-old roared back to form at Haydock.
More worryingly were the comments from Michael O’Leary with regard to potentially not running Tiger Roll in the Grand National next April on welfare grounds. This is a completely illogical notion considering Tiger Roll will be 10 next April and that is the most common age of National participants over the last decade.
Some have suggested O’Leary was on another wind-up mission and that this is all about playing mind games with the British handicapper. It won’t be very funny if Tiger Roll does indeed take his chance and something bad happens. It would be racing loading the gun of its most dangerous enemy.
We do ourselves absolutely no favours as a sport by bringing up these types of welfare concerns because if this is the case, you simply cannot justify racing at any level.
Know the risks, make your peace with them and let the horses race.
I see there were a few 'I told you so' messages from the formally signed-up members of the 'Saldier dark horse' movement, which had new-found momentum on Saturday. I’d be happy enough to double-down on the assessment of that horse being a little more overrated than under. 
The idea that he would have taken on a similar trajectory to Espoir D’Allen just because he fell when upsides that horse in a listed hurdle race around this time last year is fanciful to say the least. Perhaps more unrealistic is his position at the top of the Champion Hurdle market off the back of a one-and-a-half-length defeat of Petit Mouchoir.
Yes, he had Klassical Dream back in third place but I’d be more disappointed in that horse than bigging up the winner. The beaten favourite ran fresh through the early stages and was ultimately well held. It shouldn’t be forgotten that he was a second-season novice last term. Indeed, he ran fourth to Master Dino in a Grade 1 race at Auteuil as a three-year-old, so he doesn’t have the same scope as your usual Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner.
The Champion Hurdle market looks ripe for something to come from leftfield. I’ll be keeping an eye on the likes of Honeysuckle and Elixir De Nutz in the coming weeks, with both likely to get a chance to make their case. And remember, always allow for the failed novice chaser coming back to hurdles, à la Buveur D’Air.
It’s great to see some of the old boys like Douvan and Faugheen returning. It’s also great to see some of the old boys inside the weighing room making comebacks. Barry Geraghty, at the age of 39, has returned after breaking both his tibia and fibula when taking a fall from Peregrine Run in the Topham Chase back in April. He described it as the worst break of his career.
Many would have questioned why, or if, Geraghty would or could come back but there isn’t a sportsperson with a tougher mental resolve than a seasoned jumps jockey, and it is likely the desire to finish on his own terms held sway for a man who has already won all the races every jockey wants to win.
That said, he has plenty to look forward to with Defi Du Seuil, who made a successful transition to open chase company with an impressive performance in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham yesterday. Geraghty has been integral to the achievements of that horse, especially in the closely-fought tactical battles the pair had with Lostintranslation and Robbie Power last season.
Reading between the lines it seems like Geraghty will be more involved with J.P. McManus’s horses in Britain this season, with Mark Walsh riding the main ones at home. During this month and last, Geraghty has ridden no winners from 11 rides at home but has five winners from 23 rides in Britain, including wins on Defi Du Seuil, Champ and Hell’s Kitchen.