Willie Mullins looks to have yet another high-class chaser on his hands after Fact To File destroyed some smart opposition in the Ballymaloe Relish Rising Stars Beginners Chase at Leopardstown.
JP McManus' six-year-old only found A Dream To Share too strong in the Grade 1 Champion Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival last year and connections wasted no time in sending the son of Poliglote over fences as he skipped a hurdling campaign. He filled the runner-up spot on his chasing bow behind the highly-regarded American Mike at Navan last month but had no such issues this afternoon.
The Willie Mullins-trained contender jumped well throughout behind stablemate Minella Cocooner before taking up the running turning in with an extravagant leap. A brief squeeze of the reigns by Mark Walsh soon saw the pair's advantage grow and success never really looked in doubt from there on in for the 4/6 market leader.
Zanahiyr didn't always jump with fluency on his chasing debut but stayed on best for second, albeit seventeen lengths adrift of the eased-down winner, who barely looked to come out of second gear.
"He has Cheltenham bumper form from last year. He looks like a chaser, he certainly looked like one there, so we decided to skip his novice hurdle year and just go straight chasing," said Mullins.
"Today is the reason that I hoped we'd be right.
"He's a horse I've loved since the first day he came into the stable. I think he could go the whole way, with a bit of luck – you need a lot of luck in this game."
Paddy Power cut Fact To File to 8/1 from 12/1 for the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at Cheltenham next March, with the same firm going 12/1 from 16/1 for the Turners at the same venue.
Earlier on the card, Jade De Grugy helped give Willie Mullins an opening race double at Leopardstown on Thursday after the filly created a nice impression by landing the Savills Maiden Hurdle over two and a half miles.
The four-year-old French import travelled kindly under Paul Townend out in front and although her main market rival Butcher Hollow loomed a threat jumping the second last, Mullins' filly soon pulled clear up the straight to score by a widening fifteen lengths.
Townend said: "She's exciting, she did it nicely. I thought we built up down the back the second time and she stayed going well.
"She obviously stays well, the ground is testing there, and she has a lovely attitude. She jumped well and did everything nicely.
"I was going easy, so I felt like I was dictating it a bit. I jumped one well down the back and Sean (Flanagan) came with me and pushed me from the last down the back from there home."
Sky Bet cut the winner to 12/1 from 33/1 for the Mares' Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Jade De Grugy's owner Kenny Alexander is no stranger to success in the contest having landed the prize back in 2011 courtesy of Tellmesomethingg
