Underwriting Exchange Gold Cup Novice Chase | 2m4f | Grade 1 | 5yo+ | RTE2/RTV
Willie Mullins has won the last two runnings of this and it is the unreliable Asterion Forlonge rather than the ultra-reliable Energumene who spearheads his challenge.
This was the scene for the first of Al Boum Photo s three Grade 1 wins. He was the Willie Mullins second string that day when seeing off Shattered Love, while Voix Du Reve led home a 1-2 for the stable the last time this race was run in 2019.
So, where do we stand with Asterion Forlonge? The giant grey looked to have the world at his feet when brushing aside Conflated on his chasing debut at Punchestown in November. So impressive there that he was 4-6 to win a Grade 1 next time at Limerick over Christmas.
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Christmas crackers: The eight Grade One races in Ireland you cannot miss
By Tom Thurgood@tdthurgood
Thu 24 Dec 2020
Shreds of wrapping paper all over the living room? Tea and turkey sandwiches? Contrived laughter from the jokes in suspect Christmas crackers?
Christmas conjures certain immediate memories for all of us and among it all is probably my favourite meeting of the year in the Leopardstown Christmas Festival. What’s not to love about four days of top-class action at Foxrock over the festive period?
There is certainly much to anticipate this year with the Grade One contests for the senior two-mile hurdlers, two-mile chasers and the staying chasers over three miles looking well up to scratch.