Superstar chaser Un de Sceaux is expected to be aimed at Cheltenham’s Ryanair Chase after his record-setting third consecutive win of the Clarence House Chase at Ascot on Saturday.
Willie Mullins’ inmate ground down the front-running Speredek to win by a good chunk on ground that made it more than testing for all four contestants.
The ten-year-old, who went off a long odds-on favourite, ate up the deep ground in Berkshire while reeling off his twentieth career win, eight of them Grade Ones.
“He gallops through that ground better than any horse I’ve ever ridden,” his partner on the day Paul Townend told media afterwards.
“I rode my horse to suit him and the further we went, the more confident I was getting,” he said.
The gnarly old campaigner has seen his price cut from 4/1 to 5/2 for Ryanair Chase glory at the festival after his showing at Ascot.
Nicky Henderson’s longtime Arkle fancy Brain Power, offered up pre-race as one who might give Mullins’ runner something to think about, didn’t look comfortable for a minute and suffered a fall two out.
His jockey Nico de Boinville reported that his mount had breathing problems during the race and that’s something that his camp will look into as his run of misfortune continues.
It’s not clear what his long-term path will be at this point, with his chances of the Arkle surely being called into question. He rates as a 12/1 shot to overcome his woes and win at the festival.
