The travel outlook between Ireland and Britain continues to be a nightmare for many but might provide an unlikely boost to Leopardstown’s Christmas action.
A major entry of 20 horses were left in the €150,000 Savills Chase at Monday’s forfeit stage including Henry De Bromhead’s star Monalee.
He also figures among 10 left in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen’s Day – his original target – after the latest entry stage there.
However, whether or not Monalee and jockey Rachael Blackmore will be able to travel to Kempton appears to be up in the air.
A Cabinet meeting in Dublin on Tuesday is set to decide on extending a 48-hour travel ban on passengers from Britain.
Although ferries can continue to operate for haulage it was unclear on Monday what the situation is in relation to the transport of bloodstock.
"We will have to wait and see what comes out of a cabinet meeting tomorrow. It's a wait and see approach," said Horse Racing Ireland's chief executive Brian Kavanagh on Monday.
“There has been a 48-hour blackout on travel and the Government will meet tomorrow to discuss what comes afterwards. You’d have to suspect it will be a minimal level of travel as such. But we will take our steer from Government.”
Two other horses, the Willie Mullins trained-pair Kemboy and Allaho, were taken out of the King George but do feature among the 20 entries for Leopardstown's day three festival feature.
Kemboy won the Savills in 2018 and is one of half a dozen Mullins entries for the race in total. Last year’s winner Delta Work is one of six hopefuls still in the Savills from Gordon Elliott’a yard.
Initial bookmaker reaction was to make another De Bromhead star, Minella Indo, a 7-4 favourite.
Like Monalee, he is owned by well-known businessman Barry Maloney, and whether or not both would line-up in the same race is unclear.
De Bromhead’s Christmas plans also include his star two-miler Put The Kettle On who is among the entries that could take on Altior in Sunday’s Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton.
She also holds an entry at Leopardstown on the same day in a Grade One topped by the exciting Chacun Pour Soi.
The unpredictability of the travel situation hasn't prevented cross-channel trainer Olly Murphy from leaving Thomas Darby among 13 entries for Monday's other Grade One contest at Leopardstown, the Christmas Hurdle.
Thomas Darby, runner-up to Klassical Dream in the 2019 Supreme at Cheltenham, was third to Summerville Boy at Aintree last month on his only start of this season.
Likely local opposition should he line up is headed by the Hatton’s Grace runner-up Ronald Pump and the Elliott pair Sire du Berlais and Fury Road.
The final day festival highlight, the Matheson Hurdle, has eight local stars left in it and is set to see a rematch between Abacadabras and Saint Roi from last month’s Morgiana.
A neck separated the pair on that occasion but Saint Roi is a general favourite to reverse the placings.
His stable companion Sharjah, winner of the €100,00 contest for the last two years, is on course to try and make it a hat-trick.
The other Grade One on day four of Leopardstown, the Neville Hotels Novice Chase, has 10 left in and presents the possibility of Monkfish and Latest Exhibition, first and second in the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham last season, locking horns again.
One firm Christmas plan though is that Nicky Henderson’s Santini will take his chance in the King George having been supplemented into the race on Monday.
“When you are in lockdown Tier 4, you haven’t got a lot to do on a Sunday afternoon [and] I had a bright idea about what to do with Santini,” Henderson said.
“The Cotswold Chase is still five or six weeks away, so we supplemented him this morning for the King George party.
“We discussed it last night. We’ve been through everything this morning, and he’s so well in himself and passed all his medical checks.
“We didn’t put him in originally because I’m the first to admit we don’t think Kempton will be his ideal track but he’s very well in himself, and there’s nothing else to do.
“He may as well gallop round Kempton rather than gallop around here for five weeks.”
