Bar One Hatton's Grace Hurdle |
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| Grade 1, Fairyhouse 14:40 €120,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 4f, Class 1  |
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1 Lossiemouth 4/7F
2
Teahupoo 13/8
3
Beacon Edge 25/1
4 ran Distances: 3¾l, 5½l, 34l
Time: 5m 2.40s (slow by 25.40s)
⭐ What a mare!
— FairyhouseRacecourse (@Fairyhouse) December 1, 2024
Lossiemouth flashes all her brilliance in the Grade 1 Hatton's Grace Hurdle for @WillieMullinsNH and @PTownend. A stunning return to action to thwart Teahupoo’s bid for a third successive win in the race.@BarOneRacing pic.twitter.com/rpk9eyoBzw
Lossiemouth continued to build on her stellar reputation with a commanding victory. The Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old was making her return after an unbeaten campaign last season, which included Grade One wins at both the Cheltenham and Punchestown Festivals.
Having only been beaten once in nine previous starts, Lossiemouth was the 4-7 favourite under Paul Townend in a small field of four. She remained relaxed, shadowing her rivals for much of the race, with Teahupoo taking the lead in the home straight. Yet, Lossiemouth had not reached her full stride, and when Townend asked for more, she effortlessly surged past to win by three and three-quarter lengths. This performance led Betfair to shorten her Champion Hurdle odds from 9-4 to 6-4.
“It was very impressive, they went very steady which I think suited us,” Mullins said. “She has that bit of speed. She has a nice Flat pedigree and when they went steady, it was bar a fall or something like that. She did make a bad mistake at the fourth last but when it came down to a speed race, I thought she was going to win that anyway. Her dam is a half-sister to Lord Glitters, who was a good miler a few years ago for David O’Meara. That’s the sort of pedigree she has, she has that bit of speed that always comes in handy when they go steady.”
When asked if he would keep reigning champion hurdler State Man and Lossiemouth separate, Mullins added, “I imagine we’ll try to keep them apart. There is no point us knocking our heads against one another. We can do that later on in the season and we’ll find out more about what’s in England. State Man will probably go to Leopardstown at Christmas. She went to the International Hurdle last year but we’ll have to look at the conditions of that as it mightn’t suit.”
Hatton's Grace Hurdle
€120,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 4f, Class 1
4 ran
Going: Yielding, Good to Yielding in places
POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 Lossiemouth 211 C D 5 11-3 W P Mullins Paul Townend 4/7F
2 3¾ Teahupoo 7 11-10 Gordon Elliott Jack Kennedy 13/8
3 5½ Beacon Edge 10 11-10 Gordon Elliott Sam Ewing 25/1
4 34 Maxxum 7 11-10 Gordon Elliott Jordan Gainford 50/1
