Chris’s Dream

The Storyteller and Gordon Elliott and Keith Donoghue deservedly captured all the headlines following the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday, but Chris’s Dream ran a big race to run him to a neck.

Henry de Bromhead’s horse travelled strongly behind the pace that Alpha Des Obeaux set, and his jumping was superb, as it usually is. He made his ground nicely on the outside for Robbie Power, and he arrived there in the front rank on the run to the second last fence, with Presenting Percy to his right and The Storyteller to his left. Another good jump at the second last fence took him to the front, and he looked like the most likely winner, he traded at 1.11 in-running, before just getting run out of it close home by The Storyteller.

Chris’s Dream has the profile of a stayer, he beat Champagne Classic in the Ten Up Chase over three miles at Navan as a novice, and he won the Troytown Chase back at Navan last November on soft ground. But he won his beginners’ chase over two and a half miles, and he made all the running to win the Red Mills Chase at Gowran Park last February over the intermediate trip.

It may be that he can be more effective over two and a half miles than over three miles or further. He can be ridden aggressively over the shorter trip, and he can gain maximum benefit from his fast and fluent jumping. He would be an interesting contender for the John Durkan Chase at Punchestown next month if connections decided to allow him take his chance there.

Down Royal, 31^st October 2020, © Sportinglife.com, 2nd November 2020