TEA LOOKS A GOOD URNER
TEAHUPOO didn’t get the breaks when a close third 12 months ago — but should make no mistake this time.
Punters made Gordon Elliott’s improver the 9-4 favourite for the
2023 running and Teahupoo passed the post threequarters of a length and a nose behind Sire Du Berlais and Dashel Drasher.
But Davy Russell had to switch a couple of times as the race began in earnest and it’s not stretching credibility to believe Teahupoo would have run out a narrow winner had all the cards fallen his way.
Jack Kennedy is back in the plate today.
This season, we have seen the son of Masked Marvel just once, when defending his title in the Grade 1 Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse in December.
Teahupoo found Impaire Et Passe in his way, but it was the reigning champion who proved the stronger stayer over the two and a half miles, grinding to a onelength supremacy over the 4-5 favourite. Elliott declared afterwards that the winner would be kept fresh for the Cheltenham Festival.
That was disappointing for the National Hunt winter as a whole, but not surprising given that Teahupoo has seven times been rested for more than 50 days, and made a winning return on each occasion.
The final piece in the jigsaw is the ground.
Teahupoo, probably a stronger athlete at seven, needs cut to be seen at his best, so heavy rain on the eve of the four-day fixture is just what his backers were hoping for.
Crambo, a Grade 1 winner with a significant ‘up’ side, is taken to duke it
Sir Gerhard, Sire out with Du Berlais Paisley and Park for podium places.