Felix Desjy

Felix Desjy did well to win the Grade 2 Mongey Communications Novice Chase at Punchestown on Saturday. Setting off in front, as is his wont, he was out to his left a little at his early fences, which wasn’t ideal at right-handed Punchestown. He was passed by Emily Moon at the fifth last fence, and he dropped to third when Sizing Pottsie passed him on his inside on the run to the fourth last, but Jack Kennedy never really looked worried. He seemed to be happy enough to take a lead. He didn’t look too worried either when Sizing Pottsie kicked into a clear lead on the run to the third last fence, he didn’t really ask his horse for his effort until they started around the home turn but, when he did, Felix Desjy responded well. He joined the leader at the last and stayed on better to go on and win by two lengths.

It was a good ride by Jack Kennedy, he wasn’t sucked into a battle for the lead at the end of the back straight and, actually, Felix Desjy’s jumping was straighter when he was in behind horses than it had been when he led. And it was a good performance by Felix Desjy. He is a classy horse, a 151-rated hurdler who won a Moscow Flyer Hurdle and a Top Novices’ Hurdle as a novice hurdler, and sent off as favourite for this year’s Galway Hurdle, and he is an interesting recruit to chasing. It appears that he is settling better now over fences than he did over hurdles as he gains in maturity, and he is now two for two over the larger obstacles. His main rival on Saturday, Darver Star, probably under-performed on the heavy ground, but he still did well to beat a good horse in Sizing Pottsie, a second-season novice who is rated 148 over fences. The two-mile Grade 1 novices’ chase at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival looks like a good race for him now, and it may be that he will be even better going left-handed over fences than going right.

Punchestown, 14th November 2020, © Sportinglife.com, 16th November 2020