'She looks great' - surprise Kim Muir winner returns to action

Thursday: 1.55 Clonmel
TA Morris Memorial Irish EBF Mares Chase (Listed) | 2m4f149y | 4yo+ | RTV

Mount Ida hit the maximum price of 999-1 on Betfair during the Kim Muir and the £102 matched on the mare seemed wasted money.

Jack Kennedy sat about half-a-dozen lengths behind the second-last horse turning at the top of the hill for the first time and looked sure to be pulled up as she kept jumping right and seemed to be enjoying her experience about as much as we enjoy a trip to the dentist.

Those who participated in the plunge on the 3-1 favourite must have felt as if they were having teeth pulled for half of the race.

Kennedy never gave up, though. He somehow managed to get her confidence back and she ticked off her rivals one by one. She got to the front over the second-last and ended up winning by six and a half lengths.

Mount Ida won the Kim Muir off a mark of 142 but is now rated 152, 8lb clear of her rivals on official ratings. She even gets 3lb from Scarlet And Dove, and Gordon Elliott is looking forward to getting her season started.

Elliott said: "She did well for us last year, winning the Kim Muir at Cheltenham, where she came from a long way back. The trip might be on the sharp side here, but she looks great and we're looking forward to getting her back out."

Elliott has won this Listed prize for the last two years with Shattered Love and he has shared eight of the last ten runnings with Willie Mullins.

Camelia De Cotte was Mullins' last winner in 2018 and he was also successful with Westerner Lady (2016), Vroum Vroum Mag (2015), Tarla (2012) and Blazing Tempo (2011).

This time Mullins relies on Sapphire Lady whose mark of 127 means she has a bit to find and the champion trainer admits he would be happy to see her get placed.

Mullins said: "She wouldn’t have been suited by the heavy ground when third here over two miles, two furlongs last time. She's not particularly well suited by these race conditions but hopefully she will get some black type."

Scarlet And Dove was either first or second in six of her eight chase outings last season and should be respected given her mark of 144, while Fairyhill Run will be flying fit having already had nine starts this season.

She won three in a row between July and August and was unsurprisingly outclassed by Envoi Allen at Down Royal last time.

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