BAR ONE RACING

HATTON’S GRACE HURDLE

(grade 1)

IT may have taken her a little time to recapture last season’s brilliance but Apple’s Jade turned up in all her glory to shock Vroum Vroum Mag in the Bar One Racing Hatton’s Grace Hurdle.

Undoubtedly one of the best juvenile hurdlers of recent times, Apple’s Jade got her season off to an underwhelming start when meeting with a surprise defeat at Down Royal. A better effort followed when she was just denied in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle but, even so, this looked a huge ask just eight days after her trip across the water.

However, Gordon Elliott’s assertion that the filly would come into her own when she moved up to two and a half miles was vindicated as the four-year-old upstaged her former stablemate in the most determined fashion. A mid-season break now looks to be on the cards for the Gigginstown House Stud-owned mare as Gordon Elliott plots a path to Cheltenham for his first Grade 1 winner of the season.

The conclusion of this two and a half miles Grade 1 made for absolutely enthralling viewing as the always prominent Apple’s Jade was committed for home by Bryan Cooper early in the straight. To her credit, the hardy filly responded in kind to fly the second last flight and, at this stage, she had all bar Vroum Vroum Mag covered.

The last-named, still unbeaten since joining Willie Mullins, travelled through the race supremely well and looked set to pick off Apple’s Jade as the last flight loomed. The front pair were both inch perfect there but, on the run in, Apple’s Jade simply refused to yield and she denied the 4/7 favourite by a short-head. Shaneshill was a further seven lengths back in third.

“We weighed her this morning and she was actually heavier than when she went to Newcastle so we let her take her chance,” said a delighted Elliott. “I’m in a very lucky position to be training horses like her and the lads (Michael and Eddie O’Leary) left it entirely up to me as to whether she ran.”

“It’s testament to how good a filly she is that she could come out and do that just eight days after going to Newcastle and you could see today that the step up in trip suited her very well.

“The Mares Hurdle at Cheltenham is her target and the plan would be to have one run before then. She won’t run over Christmas and she’ll probably warm up for Cheltenham in February, there are a couple of races at Navan and Punchestown would suit.”

Of the runner-up Willie Mullins commented: “She ran a cracker. I knew Apple’s Jade would keep picking up when Vroum Vroum Mag came to her and they are two very good mares. Vroum Vroum Mag could go anywhere, she’s very versatile, but we’ll see what’s happening with other horses.’’

Acting Stewards

C.P. Magnier, J. McGrath, F. Clarke, S. Barry, P.W. Murtagh

Horse To Follow

IMPERIAL WAY (J.P. O’Brien): On his first outing since his debut second at Sligo in May, this Getaway gelding ran a pleasing race to chase home Getabird in the bumper. He should find a similar race within his grasp in the coming weeks.

Airlie Beach shoots up in grade

BAR ONE RACING ROYAL

BOND NOVICE HURDLE

(grade 1)

SHE had looked a smart mare up to this point but Airlie Beach’s standing in the novice division took on an altogether greater significance as she made all to capture the Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle.

A third consecutive winner of the race for Willie Mullins, the Supreme Horse Racing Club-owned daughter of Shantou came into this race unbeaten in her five previous starts over timber. Whether this mare, whose jumping career began with a couple of Kilbeggan wins during the summer, would cope with a switch to Grade 1 company against geldings was open to question.

She came through this test in flying colours, evidently no surprise to her legion of connections as she was returned a well supported 4/1 chance under Danny Mullins.

The race itself got off to an eventful start when Labaik refused to jump off and at this stage Airlie Beach had taken up her position at the head of the field.

For the duration of the two-mile contest the complexion of the race remained largely unchanged but Airlie Beach had her rivals in some trouble approaching the straight. At this point, the favourite Peace News was leading the chase but he crashed out at the second last when a couple of lengths down.

All this left Airlie Beach with a commanding lead which she maintained to hand out a six and a half-length beating to stablemate Saturnas. Le Martartalin took minor honours in third, while fourth went to Penhill, the shortest priced of the Mullins runners.

“She jumped great and the plan worked for her. It was the intention to jump off and take the race by the scruff of the neck,” declared Mullins, whose charge is the first mare to win this race since Like-A-Butterfly in 2001. “She’s a mare that keeps surprising us. I really never dreamt that she would make up into a Grade 1 mare.”

Airlie Beach, who will be looking to become the first winner of this race since 2002 (Hardy Eustace) to go on and win at the Chetenham Festival as a novice hurdler, is remarkably already the dam of a foal.

As a two-year-old she was accidentally covered by a French import (the subsequent bumper winner Miguel Angel) who was thought to be a gelding.