Champagne Fever sparkles on seasonal bow at Clonmel

Dual Cheltenham Festival hero Champagne Fever made a sparkling reappearance in the Clonmel Oil Chase on Thursday.

Winner of the 2012 Champion Bumper before claiming the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle 12 months later, Willie Mullins’s flying grey was only narrowly denied a Festival hat-trick when touched off in last season’s Arkle Trophy.

Sent off the 4 to 5 favourite for his seasonal reappearance in this Grade Two contest, Champagne Fever was ridden with slightly more restraint by Paul Townend than has been the case in the past.

However, he was visibly keen to get on with his job and his jumping improved markedly once allowed to stride to the front with a circuit to run.

The odds-on shot was still hard on the bridle rounding the home turn and when closest pursuer Realt Mor made a real mess of the second fence from the finish, Champagne Fever soon opened up a big lead.

He was spring-heeled at the final obstacle and came home a decisive winner.

Alderwood stayed on to take the runner-up spot from Realt Mor.

Popular veteran chaser Sizing Europe, who made a winning return to action at Gowran Park last month, raced up with the pace for much of the two-and-a-half-mile journey, but faded out of contention and came home sixth of the seven runners.

Paddy Power trimmed Champagne Fever to 8 to 1 from 10 to 1 for the King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen’s Day.

Townend said: “He can only build on that. It’s a nice little place to introduce him again this year and he just ran a bit fresh over the first few (fences), but when I let him go on he jumped like a buck and did it nicely.

“With it being a first run, it meant he was keen, but in all his runs up to this he’s looked a stayer and if he’s going to get it (three miles), he’ll get it in the King George.

“He’s won at Cheltenham a couple of times, he’s got class and he’s tough. He seems to have all the attributes of a Gold Cup horse.”

Mullins said: “I was worried about his fitness coming here, but he seems to have come back to where he was before Cheltenham now.

“When he was pulling early on, he wasn’t concentrating but he enjoyed being let down and I was pleased with how he finished.

“We’ll look at the John Durkan next and I imagine he could run in the King George then. He is entitled to go there and a flat right-handed track will suit and I expect his jumping to improve. I don’t see the point in going back to two miles with him.”

Sizing Europe’s trainer, Henry de Bromhead, said: “It was disappointing and Jonathan (Burke) said he wasn’t carrying him as well as at Gowran.

“My immediate reaction is (to blame the) ground.

“I’m not into making rash decisions, but I imagine it was ground today.”

Davy Russell, third aboard Realt Mor, gave up his two remaining mounts on the afternoon.

He said: “I fell and hurt my hip the other day. It’s a muscle problem but will be okay with physio.

“I’ll be fine for the weekend for sure.”

Townend and Mullins also combined to take the opening INH Stallion Owners EBF Maiden Hurdle as Killultagh Vic made an effortless transition over hurdles with a debut success.

Sixth and fifth respectively in the Cheltenham and Punchestown champion bumpers, the well-regarded five-year-old eased home over two and a half miles.

Quickly to the fore under Townend, Killultagh Vic jumped fluently and relatively accurately without his jockey resorting to the whip.

The field tightened up with two flights to go, but Townend knew exactly what was beneath him.

Killultagh Vic (1 to 4 favourite) slightly scuffed the top of the final hurdle, but he was still not hard pressed to account for Virtuoso Rouge by four and a half lengths.

Townend said: “He was very straight forward. I’d have liked to get a lead as they were going too slow and he had to do his own donkey work. It was a nice starting point.

“He had one run in a point-to-point and he jumped a bit big, but he’ll be fine in time.”

The Bold Beckey was a 4 to 1 winner of the Clonmel Oil Race Day Handicap Hurdle in the hands of conditional jockey Shane Crimin.

Stay With It tried to make a race of it at the end of a testing two and a half miles, but The Bold Beckey saw her off and was well on top as she passed the post six lengths to the good.

Winning trainer TJ Nagle said: “She’s only a pony but is game and has been incredibly well all the time.

“I thought she was a certainty if she handled the ground and Shane said he always thought she was going to win.”

Consistent mare Clara McCloud got back on the winning trail with a determined display in the Clonmel Oil Service Station Handicap Hurdle.

Since her last success at Roscommon in August, Gordon Elliott’s charge had been placed on each of her three starts, including when third at Cheltenham last month.

Sent off the 4 to 1 favourite back on home turf, Clara McCloud travelled kindly throughout in the hands of Barry Geraghty and picked up well from the final flight to take top honours by three lengths.

The strong-travelling Tulsa Jack came home well to fill the runner-up spot, ahead of Make A Track in third.

“She’s a nice mare and Gordon has minded her very well. She benefited from a break prior to Cheltenham and stepped up over there and stepped up again today,” said Geraghty.

“She is as sweet as a nut and was fresh and well today and was able to cope with the ground which is loose but heavy.”

Jarlath Fahey's Jennies Jewel emerged triumphant after an attritional EBF TA Morris Memorial Mares Chase.

Pollywollydoodle took the field along for much of the two-and-a-half-mile journey and the majority of runners failed to reel her in in the rain-softened ground.

Jennies Jewel, an 8 to 1 shot in the hands of Ian McCarthy, was the only one racing with the long-time leader rounding the home turn and boxed on gamely to win the Grade Three prize by four and a half lengths.

Pollywollydoodle boxed on well to finish a clear second, ahead of Elsie in third.

The two British raiders, the Nicky Henderson-trained favourite Une Artiste and Lucy Wadham’s Baby Shine, never threatened to land a blow.