Ile Atlantique faces acid test
Naas run to provide a big lesson ahead of Cheltenham
ILE Atlantique faces the acid test of his Cheltenham Festival credentials as he leads the fourstrong Willie Mullins-trained team into battle in today’s rearranged Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle.
The race fell victim to the fog that descended on the Kildare track last Sunday, but thankfully the ultra-competitive Grade One event has been saved and Mullins will be bidding for a recordextending ninth win in the contest, 19 years after first striking with Homer Wells.
Closutton stable jockey Paul Townend has elected to link up with Ile Atlantique after the duo sauntered to a 19-length success on hurdles debut at Gowran.
The six-year-old brings smart bumper form to the table — including a narrow defeat by chief market rival Firefox — but connections appreciate this is a huge leap up in class on just his second start over obstacles.
‘He’s going from winning a maiden hurdle to a Grade One and it’s a big ask, but Firefox is doing the same and so are a few other horses in the race,’ said Seán Graham, racing manager to Ile Atlantique’s owner Tony Bloom. ‘You don’t know how much improvement a horse can find after winning a maiden hurdle, but then are they good enough to win a Grade One?
‘The bumper form has held up well and we’re hoping he’s as good as everyone thinks he is, but it’s only his second run over hurdles. He’s a classy horse and he works with all the best horses Willie has, but until he goes and does it, you are not quite sure. If we run on Friday and finish fifth or sixth, then you’ve got to think maybe Cheltenham isn’t on the cards then, so it will be a learning curve for us as well as the horse.’
Not only does this afternoon’s contest represent a step up in grade for Ile Atlantique, it is also the first time he will race beyond two miles in Ireland.
Despite that, he is already single-figure odds with the majority of bookmakers for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and connections feel that is currently his most likely Prestbury Park target if all goes according to script.
Joining Ile Atlantique from Closutton is easy Clonmel scorer Chapeau De Soleil, who will be the mount of Patrick Mullins, Navan runner-up Lecky Watson (Danny Mullins) and the fourtimer-seeking Readin Tommy Wrong (Daryl Jacob).
If Mullins is the race’s most successful trainer, then it is Gordon Elliott who has dominated the recent history winning four of the last seven runnings.
Elliott has a second string to his bow in the form of Croke Park. The only runner not trained by Mullins or Elliott is Henry de Bromhead’s An Tobar who steps up in trip.