Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
STATEMENT OF INTENT
Mullins puts Queen Mother hopes on unexposed Chacun
CHACUN POUR SOI remains on course for his eagerly-awaited clash with hat-trick seeking Altior and Defi Du Seuil in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase in Cheltenham on Wednesday.
Although he has 65 Cheltehham Festivals on his CV as a trainer, Willie Mullins has never won the two-mile championship race and will rely on the exciting and unexposed Chacun Pour Soi, conqueror of stable-companion Min in the Ladbrokes Dublin Chase at Leopardstown last time.
Mullins also left Min in Wednesday’s feature, although his target is the Ryanair on Thursday, also the aim of the only other Irish acceptor for the Queen Mother, the Henry de
Bromhead-trained A Plus Tard.
The 11 acceptors for the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase are: Altior, A Plus Tard, Bun Doran, Chacun Pour Soi, Defi Du Seuil, Dynamite Dollars, Hell’s Kitchen. Min, Politologue, Sceau Royal, Lady Buttons.
Meanwhile, the Denis Hogan-trained Sceptical might prove the star of tonight’s action in Dundalk, in the opening five-furlong handicap.
A lightly-raced four-year-old, a bargain-buy recruit from Godolphin, he won his maiden impressively at this track in November.
After a break, he made a successful handicap debut on only his third start here last week when accounting for the reliable yardstick War Hero.
The handicapper reacted with an 11lb hike, leaving him on a mark of 101 and on course for the sprint championship at Lingfield on Good Friday.
Tonight, he drops back to five furlongs, over which he finished a close third to Yale on his debut. But he possesses the gears to cope well with the shorter trip and, with Joey Sheridan (without a win since October) claiming a crucial 7lb off the welter burden of 10-4, Sceptical might outclass his eight rivals.
Another top-weight, bidding to overcome a hefty jump up the ratings, Jon Ess is also worth noting.
Impressive when stepping-up to a mile and a half last time slamming Guild and, clearly in the form of his life, he’ll make a bold bid to complete a hat-trick in the Craic At The Track Handicap.