Princess Zoe heading for Cheltenham after dead heat on debut
PRINCESS Zoe had to settle for a share of the honours on her jumping debut at Punchestown yesterday after a dead-heat finish to the Bar One Racing Mares Maiden Hurdle.
The Tony Mullins-trained grey has been a fantastic servant over the past four years, with a Group One triumph in the 2020 Prix du Cadran the highlight of a Flat career that also saw her win the Group Three Sagaro Stakes at Ascot.
She looked set to be retired for broodmare duties in 2023, but failed to meet her reserve price at the Tattersalls December Sale, prompting connections into a rethink.
Following a pleasing schooling session last week, Princess Zoe was given the green light to give hurdling a go, with a view to a potential appearance at the Cheltenham Festival.
Despite her exploits on the level, she was not even favourite for her first start in the National Hunt sphere, with the Willie Mullins-trained Pink In The Park preferred.
The top two in the market were the first two in the race for much of the two-and-a-half-mile journey, with Princess Zoe asserting a clear lead on the second circuit under Danny Mullins.
The eight-year-old looked to have victory sewn up after travelling strongly into the straight, but she flattened the final flight, giving Henry de Bromhead’s Ladybank, under Rachael Blackmore, a real shot on the run-in.
There was nothing to choose between the pair on the approach to the winning line, and they flashed by as one. After a tense wait, the judge confirmed he could not split them and declared a dead-heat.
Mullins, who admitted to being nervous about whether his stable star would take to the jumping game, is confident there is more to come from her ahead of the Festival. ‘We’re very happy with her. Danny said he thought she was a little guessy on her own at one or two of them,’ said Mullins.
‘At the moment we’re thinking of the mares’ novice at Cheltenham but it’s not definite. It looks the logical way, as opposed to the Albert Bartlett.
‘I thought she was a little gassy, having not run for a while. That might have emptied her a little.’
A wide-margin victory for Diverge in the opener gave High Definition’s form a major boost ahead of this weekend’s Dublin Racing Festival.
High Definition made a smart start to his hurdling career at Leopardstown over Christmas and is set for an intriguing clash with Facile Vega in the Grade One Tattersalls Ireland Novice Hurdle on Sunday.
Diverge, beaten 20 lengths into sixth by High Definition on what was his Irish debut, was sent off favourite for Willie Mullins in the Bar One Racing Maiden Hurdle. The five-year-old son of Frankel pulled 23 lengths clear of his nearest pursuer Mon Coeur, leaving Mullins to consider a possible tilt at the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
‘He did it well and improved a lot from the last day,’ said the champion trainer. ‘We changed the tactics as he was very free in Leopardstown.
‘I said to Paul (Townend) “don’t be fighting him too much”. We thought there might be enough pace in the race, but our fella seemed to want to jump past Danny (Mullins, on Stellium) so Paul let him on and let him enjoy himself. He loves jumping.
‘He has entries at Cheltenham and we’d probably be looking at the Supreme. Any horse that wins his maiden by 23 lengths on his second run has to. He looks like he’s booked a place on the team anyway.’
The Closutton handler doubled up in the Bar One Racing (C & G) Maiden Hurdle, but it was his apparent second string Haxo who claimed top honours.