Only one winner in Marsh popularity contest but younger legs may hold sway

Marsh Novices' Chase (Grade 1) | 2m4f | New course | 5yo+ | ITV/RTV

Normally, a former Champion Hurdle winner who is unbeaten in three starts over fences, two of them Grade 1s, would be seen as the banker of the week in the Marsh. But then Faugheen has never been normal.

He is 12, of course, and jumps in a way that does not exactly dispel the cliche about old dogs and new tricks. Still, in his prime he was the best hurdler since Istabraq and his chase form this season is strictly the strongest on offer.

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Partly that is down to opportunity. He has had more Grade 1 chances and buried a disappointing Samcro at Limerick over Christmas. The only British Grade 1 for horses in this division is the Scilly Isles and it is felt that form will prove key.

Itchy Feet, third in last year's Supreme Novices' Hurdle, won the Scilly Isles on just his second chase start. He was not foot-perfect himself. After tanking into the race he landed steeply two out.

At such a crucial point in the race, that would usually lead to panic stations. Gavin Sheehan sat up, gave the reins a quick shake and brought his mount straight back on the bridle. He won by a cosy three and a half lengths.

Second was Midnight Shadow, the main beneficiary from Champ's fall in the Dipper. He has gained plenty of experience, building up smart form along the way, and has a good Cheltenham pedigree as winner of the 2019 Relkeel Hurdle. Each-way players could do a lot worse.

Mister Fisher, like Itchy Feet, has improved quickly and tangibly for the switch to fences. His defeats of Good Boy Bobby and Al Dancer show that. The latter, in Doncaster's Lightning Novices' Chase, was particularly notable. To have the speed to beat that horse over two miles, when this sort of trip will be closer to his long-term home, takes some doing.

Samcro needs to be dealt with. Nearly all racing fans would have been excited to see him over a trip and a fence, but he sat in his own flowerbed when floundering behind Faugheen at Limerick.

He shaped like the sort of horse that might benefit from the breathing operation he has since been given. There is scope to open the box and see what is inside, but in a race this competitive it is recommended for only his most devoted fans.

Finally, it is worth noting that race tactics will probably be dictated by the Willie Mullins runners. He saddles four of the 12 – Bapaume, Tornado Flyer, Faugheen and Melon. The last two are the likeliest pace angles.
Keith Melrose, betting editor

Townend – the stats are against Faugheen but he is exceptional

Six years have passed since Faugheen announced his enormous potential by filleting the 2014 Ballymore Novice Hurdle field and he returns to the Cotswolds now with a chance to confound all reasonable expectations.

At 12 years of age, having belatedly embarked on a chasing career that he looked destined for in his youth, he has provided some of the most heartwarming moments of the campaign. Like his fellow Ballymore winner Samcro, the Rich Ricci-owned stalwart is also a son of Germany.

However, all the evidence points to the elder progeny of the sire having a markedly different constitution.

Willie Mullins: saddles four runners in the Marsh Novices' ChaseCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

When Faugheen ploughed through the first ditch he encountered in his life on his Punchestown fencing bow, he found a way not to fall. When he and Samcro eyeballed each other at Limerick, he never blinked, and when his goose looked cooked at Leopardstown as the race began to unfold a quarter of a mile from home in the Flogas Novice Chase last month, he dug deep. Winners invariably find a way.

Willie Mullins’ charge possesses a palpable resilience to match the unadulterated class that saw him so memorably boss the 2015 Champion Hurdle.

On one level, as an unbeaten chaser whose three wins include two Grade 1s, Faugheen clearly has genuine credentials as he tackles a fourth different race on his fifth visit to the festival, having last year finished a commendable third in the Stayers'.

The flip side, though, is that he is trying to do something no horse has done in recent history by winning a major novice chase in his
13th year. It’s a tall order, but at this stage you could put nothing beyond him.

Moreover, having laboured over whether or not to pitch Faugheen back into such a cauldron of intensity, the decision to run seems significant in itself.

“He was so tough and gutsy when he won at Leopardstown the last day,” says Paul Townend, who did the steering for an epic Flogas victory that raised the roof at the Dublin track.

“All the stats are against him here, but he is an exceptional horse and his record speaks for itself. Itchy Feet was good when he won at Sandown and Reserve Tank is another we have to be fearful of, but I wouldn’t swap Faugheen.

"He has been such a special horse and if he were to win here it would bring the house down.”

Elliott not giving up on Samcro

Plenty of others have resolved not to follow Samcro over the proverbial cliff, but those closest to one of the most mercurial equine talents around refuse to give up on him.

Since vindicating his status as banker material in the 2018 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, Samcro has won only once in seven starts. That success came at Down Royal in November when he dotted up as odds of 1-3 suggested he should on his chase debut.

Samcro: 'He seems very well at home and I haven't given up on him yet,' says Gordon ElliottCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

It was supposed to mark a bright new dawn for Gigginstown House Stud’s former prodigy, but in his two subsequent starts he took a soft fall two out when challenging in the Drinmore Novice Chase and failed dismally to cope with a resurgent Faugheen at Limerick after Christmas.

Take those two runs in isolation, and you could legitimately argue he might have won the Drinmore and a ten-length beating by Faugheen is nothing to be ashamed of.

However, when you pitch them into the context of last season’s performances, when he never seemed to finish his races strongly, the pattern of flattering to deceive is hard to ignore.

Gordon Elliott has previously explained that the horse has scoped consistently poorly, and he has also now undergone a second procedure to help his breathing as he attempts to recapture his old glory at the scene of his finest hour.

With Jack Kennedy sidelined, Davy Russell partners the horse he once billed as "as good a horse as we’ll ever see" for a first time in a race.

"I wasn't happy with Samcro at all after his run at Christmas, so I just decided to freshen him up and come straight here instead of going anywhere else," Elliott said on Wednesday.

"He seems very well at home and I haven't given up on him yet. I'm still convinced there are some big days left in him."
Richard Forristal

What they say

Olly Murphy, trainer of Itchy Feet
He has a good each-way chance. He's come on again for Sandown and for having the more experience, the drier ground won't be a worry for him and I'm looking forward to running him.

Patrick Mullins, rider of Melon
I think Melon will definitely improve for the step up in trip and he always seems to run well around Cheltenham.

Danny Cook, rider of Midnight Shadow
He's in great form, his last two pieces of work have been good and he schooled well last Wednesday. He's a good traveller and I hope they go a nice strong pace so I can bide my time and ride him to get up the hill.

Nicky Henderson, trainer of Mister Fisher
The drying ground is hugely in his favour, as is the fact this will be the first race on the New course. I very nearly ran him in the Arkle because he has enough speed for that, but he has proved he stays and I thought this race might be slightly easier.

Joe Tizzard, assistant to Colin Tizzard, trainer of Reserve Tank
He's a very good horse but he doesn't handle the winters very well, which has been well publicised. We think we have him in the right form for this at home and, at the end of the day, he's a dual Grade 1-winning novice hurdler. This will be the day to find out quite how good he is over fences.

Spotlight verdict

A win for the remarkable 12-year-old Faugheen would bring the house down and it's entirely possible, with the 2015 Champion Hurdle hero having landed Grade 1 chase victories in Ireland the last twice. However, preference is for last year's Supreme Novices' Hurdle third Itchy Feet, who impressed with his powerful finish in the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novices' Chase at Sandown last time out. Reserve Tank retains significant potential and could go well if the ground dries out, with Mister Fisher another to consider.

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