Old battler is Sceaux close to a great win
DEFI DU SEUIL saw off the veteran Un De Sceaux in a pulsating climax to the Betfair Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown. Eight runners went to post for the Grade One feature, with the Philip Hobbs-trained Defi Du Seuil the marginal favourite at 2-1, ahead of the five years older Un De Sceaux and the grey Politologue – both previous winners of the race.
Ornua took the field along for much of the two-mile contest, before the 11-year-old Un De Sceaux took over racing down the back straight in the hands of Paul Townend.
Barry Geraghty covered the move aboard Defi Du Seuil and the pair rounded the final turn ready to do battle.
Just for a moment it looked like Un De Sceaux had his rival in serious trouble, but Defi Du Seuil managed to get on terms and then looked set to win decisively after touching down in front after the final fence.
However, Un De Sceaux – successful in the 2016 renewal – refused to go down without a fight and came roaring back up the hill, with just a neck splitting the pair at the line.
Hobbs said: ‘It was a very long run-in! I thought at the last he would win quite well, but he has run a fantastic race. He jumped beautifully and Barry thinks he will have learnt a bit from today – going that pace with Grade One horses.’
The Minehead handler was in no rush to commit to future targets, but hinted that plans for Nicky
Henderson’s dual Queen Mother Champion Chase hero Altior could have an impact, and if that one goes back to two miles for the Clarence House Chase at Ascot, Hobbs may avoid him.
Willie Mullins was proud of Un De Sceaux in defeat. He said: ‘I’m delighted. I thought he might only be third with about 200 yards to go and then he just seemed to get a new lease of life coming to the winning post. If we’d been using the second winning post it might have been the right one for us, but there we are – he’s run a cracker.
‘He is a remarkable horse. He is an 11-year-old still wearing earplugs, that’s how much he wants to get on with his job – he loves it.
‘Christmas in Leopardstown might come too soon and I’d say the Dublin Festival (February) would look the one. A lot will depend on what happens to our horses over Christmas.’
Only three-quarters of a length away in third was Waiting Patiently, with Ruth Jefferson’s stable star bouncing right back to his best.
At Aintree, racegoers were denied a thrilling head-to-head between Native River and Might Bite after the latter unseated early in the Many Clouds Chase, leaving the former Gold Cup winner to cruise
around to beat his two remaining rivals easily.
Despite Richard Johnson easing him down to a trot on the run-in, the chestnut gelding still came home with 33 lengths in hand.
Johnson said: ‘The blinkers might have sharpened him up a little bit, but he just definitely felt much more his old self today.
‘Might Bite obviously went early, and it’s good to see they were OK.
Again, he just had a bit more zip about him today. Cheltenham in March is the obvious main target, but I’m sure he’ll have a couple more runs between now and then.’
Owner Garth Broom was asked about the Grand National, and said: ‘We’re not ruling it out. The race for him now is the Welsh National.’
At Navan, Tornado Flyer kept his unbeaten record over fences with a gritty display in the Klairon Davis Novice Chase for Mullins and nephew Danny.
Ronan McNally’s The Jam Man was a shock winner of the €80,000 eCOMM Merchant Solutions Handicap Hurdle ahead of the 6-4 favourite Tout Est Permis, while Minella Times claimed the Foxrock Handicap Chase for Rachael Blackmore and Henry de Bromhead, just seeing off Ben Dundee.