Veteran Sizing Europe brings the house down at Punchestown

Jump racing is too tough a sport to entertain too many ‘last hurrah’ storylines but Sizing Europe breached the sentiment dam with a vengeance on the opening day of the Punchestown festival in a feature race success that proved to be thrilling hark back to the veteran star’s halcyon days.

In fact the 12-year-old landed the €200,000 Boylesports Champion Chase with such aplomb that presumptions it might be the perfect final act to a remarkable 42-race career appeared to be parked to the side.

"He didn't look like a fella that wanted to finish up," a clearly exultant Henry De Bromhead said. "He was running away with Andrew (Lynch) for most of the race!"

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Andrew Lynch with the Blessington Cup after his win on Sizing Europe in the Boylesports.com Champion Chase.

Since it is eight years since the first start of a career that has seen Sizing Europe secure a remarkable fifty per cent success-rate, including two Cheltenham festival victories, and eight Grade One wins in all, his capacity to keep surprising his Co Waterford trainer might have been expected to have diminished.

But after drawing a blank all season, yesterday’s good ground conditions appeared to hold the key to a hugely popular victory for the old man of the race.

“He ran away with one of our head lads yesterday who said he’s never been better. But he’s been doing that all year, just not on the track for whatever reason. But it’s all come together now,” De Bromhead added.

He understandably kicked to touch on the retirement question, as did owner Alan Potts who said: “We always wanted him to go out on a win so we’ll see. But I don’t want to make a decision.”

If the big race was dominated by an old-stager, Faugheen’s Herald Champion Novice Hurdle success proved there is nothing like a new kid on the block to stir the racing imagination as he maintained his unbeaten record with an electrifying dozen length rout on his first start at two miles.

The horse labelled a future chaser by Willie Mullins after winning the Neptune at Cheltenham was so impressive most firms now have him disputing Champion Hurdle favouritism with a clutch of other emerging stars, including a stable companion that Mullins unequivocally rates better.

Vautour wasn’t quite right to run yesterday, although he will appear here on Friday, but the trainer of the most enviable collection of top hurdlers in the sport maintained: “I think Vautour would have done that and better. This fella was sloppy at one or two but Vautour wouldn’t have done that.”

All that seemed to do was emphasise Mullins’s exalted standards since Faugheen bounced off ground changed to “good” after his race with rare style.

“When I opened him up turning in – holy God –away with him!” beamed an impressed Ruby Walsh.

Mullins went on to land the €100,000 Land Rover Bumper with Very Much So on a day when the sun shone on Sizing Europe and a record day one crowd.