The Navan Racing Festival was put back a day by heavy rain but fortunately was rearranged and all was well.
Day one took place on Sunday and saw the meeting start with an impressive winner of the 3-Y-O Hurdle named Barbizon for owner Gigginstown Stud, Gordon Elliot and Danny Gilligan.
The first Graded action saw another winner with the same owner and trainer when Kalypsochance took the Monksfield Novice Hurdle this time under Jack Kennedy. This horse was beaten at Down Royal at odds of 1/5 on his debut over obstacles.
The other Grade 3 on the card was the Troytown Handicap Chase. Trainer Terence O’Brien saddled Answer To Kayf to win this prestigious race and it turned out to be a very emotional victory. Jockey John Shinnick delivered a great ride here as between 4 and 5 out he lost his position and looked well beaten. He led at the last and stayed on well to beat Yeah Man and Dunboyne.
The second day had 3 Graded Races on the card. The For Auction Novice Hurdle was won by the Declan Queally trained I’ll Sort That who made it 5 wins from 7 outings in his career to date. The Grade 2 Lismullen Hurdle was taken by Colonel Mustard for trainer Lorna Fowler and partnered by John Shinnick who has had the best couple of days in the saddle. Finally, the Fortria Chase was won nicely by Found A Fifty for Gordon Elliot and Jack Kennedy.
Although we had plenty of graded action to enjoy over the two days, we also had very informative racing with two Willie Mullins charges Kopek Des Bordes and Final Demand appearing in Beginners Chases. The latter won over two and a half miles for owner Bryan Drew who also owned the Paddy Power Gold Cup winner the previous day at Cheltenham. Nice weekend for him!
Kopek Des Bordes won over a shorter trip and was equally impressive. Both were ridden by Paul Townend and these horses look to have huge potential. We shall see…