SEVERAL strong candidates for this, but Majborough’s demolition job in Sunday’s Ladbrokes Dublin Chase was a truly awesome display. From the second the starter dropped his flag, he came alive for Mark Walsh, whose suggestion to ride him more positively than before - combined with first-time cheekpieces - worked a treat.

It appeared as though neither Marine Nationale or Solness acted on the testing ground (the latter possibly resenting the application of a visor too).

Still, Majborough looked to simply sicken them with the pure speed he showed early doors - jumping with real gusto all the way.

Arguably the most impressive part of the performance was how fast he finished out in these conditions, and after bombing on early. With the exception of his first furlong, he saved his quickest sectional from two furlongs out to the final furlong marker - clocking 13.99 seconds.

In comparison, his rivals went through the same portion of the race in 15.46, 15.81, 17.88 and 19.26 seconds.

Even Majborough’s final furlong of 14.96 seconds was exquisite (Marine Nationale his closest rival in that portion of the race with a much slower 16.56 seconds).

His maximum stride length of 7.32 metres was also much longer than any other runner, not just in this race, but on the entire card. The same connections’ Grade 1 Ladbrokes Novice Chase winner, Kaid d’Authie, had the second longest stride (7.22 metres) of the day.

In a remarkable coincidence, both he and Majborough debuted in the same three-year-old hurdle at Auteuil back in April 2023 - the pair snapped up straight after by J.P. McManus. That looks excellent recruitment.

The IHRB handicapper opted to raise Majborough 10lb to a mark of 174 for this 19-length rout. It makes him the joint-highest rated horse in training in Ireland, alongside Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup hero Fact To File (+3lb).

ON a weekend in which he rode a four-timer, Jack Kennedy deserves top marks for getting the quirky but talented Bowensonfire home in front in the €150,000 Padel At Leopardstown Golf Handicap Hurdle.

There surely would have been concerns over whether the 10/1 chance would really handle such testing ground, given his first big win came on good ground at Bellewstown in July, and Gordon Elliott described the winner as “a bit of a monkey”.

The plan was for Kennedy to “drop him in and get him in every bit of trouble you can”.

That can be a dangerous game to play in a competitive 19-runner handicap hurdle around here, but the plan worked to perfection and he surely saved ground relative to well-backed second I Started A Joke, who got a solid ride from Sean Bowen but just found one too good on the day.

That rival was simply delivered with optimum timing.

UNSURPRISINGLY when conditions were so testing, there were a few big swings late on in the in-running markets. However, none rivalled the drama of Sunday’s Coolmore N.H. Sires Los Angeles Irish EBF Mares Bumper in which Stephen Connor most unfortunately mistook the winning post on Royal Hillsborough - an incident where you could only have immense sympathy for the rider’s human error.

His mount hit the shortest possible in-running odds of 1/100, while the winner, Moonverrin, was able to be backed at 979/1.

In the O’Driscolls Irish Whiskey Leopardstown Handicap Chase, 14/1 winner Backmersackme traded at a massive 269/1 on his way to victory. Waterford Whispers(SP 7/1) hit 6/4 before finishing third, while the well-fancied fifth Kim Roque (13/2) nearly went as short as 8/15 in the straight. Connections of the winner have one eye on the National Hunt Novices’ Handicap Chase over much further at Cheltenham and he’ll be a huge player there.

Ballyfad (7/2), who many felt had got the verdict when crossing the line in the Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle, hit a low of 3/5 before being chinned by Talk The Talk.

The well-backed True Testimony (11/2) was travelling strongly deep into the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Paddy And Maureen Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle and hit close to 5/4 in the home straight. She dropped to 12th and unfortunately returned lame - an obvious excuse for her finishing effort. As for the Padel At Leopardstown Golf Launching Spring 2026 Handicap Hurdle, I Started A Joke was a painful watch for supporters, as he hit 2/13 from an SP of 7/4.

On day two, Selma De Vary (17/2) went close to 2/5 in her promising second behind Narciso Has, while Savante traded at 1/10 after taking command in the Race And Stay At Leopardstown Handicap Hurdle only to be worn down by Saint Le Fort at the end of a gruelling three miles.

The Goffs Irish Arkle was a massive see-saw contest. Romeo Coolio (4/9 favourite) could have been backed at a shade above 10/1 after looking in trouble turning in, and Kargese (2/1) touched as low as 1/10.

Addragoole (7/1) hit evens in the Barberstown Castle Handicap Chase when looking a danger prior to his eventual third - the same in-running price as 28/1 runner-up With Nolimitin the Paddy Power Cheltenham Countdown Podcast Bumper.

CASES could be made for a host of interesting runners in handicaps, but Willie Mullins and Susannah Ricci’s French recruit Selma De Vary ran a race full of promise on her Irish debut to finish second behind stablemate Narciso Has in the Grade 1 Gannon’s City Recovery & Recycling Services Juvenile Hurdle.

The daughter of smart sire Zarak hasn’t been in the Closutton system as long as some of the stable’s fanciest juveniles because she won at Auteuil on November 5th, and a lack of time in the yard doesn’t typically tend to yield the best results with Mullins runners. The vibes beforehand appeared to be that she could well improve a fair deal from whatever she showed at the DRF, but that she was talented.

Against that backdrop, connections surely must have come away really pleased with what she showed in coming from well off the pace to finish closest to the all-the-way winner, who was making his third Irish start and has been with the champion trainer considerably longer.

What was particularly likeable in this display from Selma De Vary was how she quickened up. As per RaceiQ, she clocked the fastest individual furlong of any runner in the line-up when covering two furlongs out to the furlong pole in 14.18 seconds (compared to Narciso Has’ 14.29 seconds and Mange Tout’s 14.55 seconds). She was also faster than anything through the final four furlongs.

It’s fully understandable why Narciso Has is 6/4 favourite for the Triumph Hurdle, but odds of 8/1 about Selma De Vary still make each-way appeal. There were four and a half lengths between them at the DRF, and it’s reasonable to expect she can get a good deal closer in March.

After all, Majborough was an eye-catching third in the same Grade 1 event on his Irish introduction for the stable before winning the Triumph on his next start. It can be done.

EVEN if it was delayed, all credit to the Leopardstown team for managing to get racing to go ahead at all this weekend, because this was a genuinely mammoth task after all the rain that hit the Co Dublin track.

Head of racing at Horse Racing Ireland racecourses Peter Roe indicated after the dust had settled on the DRF that the track was unraceable once again on Tuesday - the day after the rescheduled fixture - following a further 20mm of rain from Monday into Tuesday. What a relief it was that racing managed to go ahead on Sunday and Monday, and didn’t require a switch to a Monday-Tuesday slot that ultimately wouldn’t have worked due to the weather.

There were a host of parties who made the contingency plans possible, with HRI’s race planning manager Andrew Finnegan mentioned as having created extensive alternative plans and restructured race times in the event of further cancellations. HRI’s team were also appreciative of the willingness from tracks like Punchestown and Fairyhouse to change dates as needed, while the British Horseracing Authority were noted as having been helpful in agreeing to alter race times in order to facilitate a rescheduled DRF.

The Leopardstown ground staff, with the guidance of IHRB clerk of the course Paddy Graffin, clearly played a blinder to keep the show on the road, but there were also key logistical and commercial challenges for the wider Leopardstown team to deal with - especially on a weekend when an estimated one in three racegoers were British-based. They would have no doubt been in touch with queries about racing’s prospects before boarding flights to Dublin.

Considering Leopardstown hadn’t lost a meeting due to weather since March 2018, here’s hoping this is a complete rarity that we don’t have to deal with again for a long, long time.

Brian Gleeson (speaking on RTÉ Racing): “Would you sell Brighterdaysahead to Elon Musk?”

Eddie O’Leary: “He hasn’t got a rocket as good as her.”