Marine Nationale maintained his unbeaten record with a near foot-perfect display on his debut over fences at Leopardstown.
Owned and trained by Barry Connell, the six-year-old won each of his two bumper starts and was three from three over hurdles last season, culminating in a brilliant victory in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Encountering larger obstacles for the first time, having sidestepped a potential engagement at Navan last month on account of testing conditions, Marine Nationale was a 1-2 shot for the Paddy Power From The Horses Mouth Podcast Beginners Chase and those who took the cramped odds will have had few concerns for the duration of the two-mile-one-furlong contest.
Michael O’Sullivan’s mount raced zestfully on the front end from the drop of the flag and was particularly impressive in the jumping department.
The market leader was still hard on the bridle turning for home and another bold leap at the final obstacle put the seal on a comfortable eight-and-a-half-length victory over Firm Footings.
Paddy Power and Betfair were suitably impressed by the winner’s performance, trimming his odds for the Arkle at Cheltenham to 4-5 from 7-4, while Coral are marginally bigger at evens.
“I didn’t enjoy watching it at all. Last year we were coming in under the radar and this year we are favourite for the Arkle and expected to win,” said Connell.
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