Drama aplenty on Saturday but there was no doubt on who were the headline acts. David Ord reflects on a remarkable afternoon.
Well that was a Saturday that had just about everything.
It had drama as Shan Blue departed three out when seemingly set to run out a breathtaking winner of the bet365 Charlie Hall Chase.
There were the first steps towards redemption for Envoi Allen as he returned to winning ways at Down Royal.
Then there were the strides going out of the back straight in the bet365 Hurdle at Wetherby when Paisley Park looked to be heading into retirement.
But above all it had Frodon and Bryony Frost.
They are one of the most enduring partnerships in the National Hunt game and it’s hard to gauge what their victory in the Ladbrokes Champion Chase meant to the rider.
Her complaint of bullying against Robbie Dunne has been grabbing the headlines of late amid leaked reports and calls for the BHA to end its investigation from the PJA.
I can’t add anything to the words of Graham Cunningham in another fantastic File this week but to see her end the week with a broad smile and another Grade One trophy held aloft was fantastic.
So was the race. You know what you’re going to get with Frodon. To the front and catch me if you can. They nearly did on Saturday – in fact for a stride or three Galvin looked to have taken his measure.
But the winner is a terrier and his head went lower, he brushed off a mistake at the last, and was back in front soon after.
Frost received a tremendous reception as she returned to the winners’ enclosure while Paul Nicholls, winning the race for a fifth time, watched on from Wetherby.
After the bloodbath at the Cheltenham Festival, the British champion has now launched two successful Grade One raids across the Irish Sea, Clan Des Obeaux winning at Punchestown before the latest Frodon heroics.
Clealry they don’t represent a significant sea change, but the British champion will savour days like this whenever they come along.
Minella Indo looked in need of the race beforehand – history suggests he always does on his first start back – and will prove a different proposition as the campaign progresses.
So might stablemate Envoi Allen although arguably this was a bigger day for him.
He looked to have the racing world at his hooves before crashing out at the fourth fence of the Marsh Chase at the Festival. He then chipped a joint when pulling up at Punchestown and suddenly Henry De Bromhead and his team had an unexpected rebuilding job on their hands.
The Join Racing TV Chase was the first step down this road and was very much a case of mission accomplished. A 22 lengths defeat of Echoes Of Family taught us nothing new – but it’s a launchpad for a season that should take him back – at some stage – to the Grade One table.
Shan Blue looked set to take his seat there too when seemingly on target to record a similar margin of victory in the Wetherby feature.
But then, at the third last, he got it all wrong. It was a sickening fall and there was a great sense of relief when he regained his feet soon afterwards.
Dan Skelton said: “The horse is all right, Harry’s all right. Good jumpers, when they have a fall, they have a bad fall. It wasn’t very nice but he’s OK, he’d have hacked up. You can’t dwell on it, the horse is OK, we know he’s a good horse. We’re missing a trophy today, but at least we’re not missing a horse.”
The Ladbrokes Trophy and King George were mooted as potential targets afterwards and hopefully Shan Blue is a horse whose best days are still ahead of him.
Paisley Park’s probably aren’t – but the way he ran on when all hoped seemed to have gone to finish third behind Indefatigable showed the fire still burns.
He’ll head to Newbury himself now for the Long Distance Hurdle as connections ponder a potential chasing career. Even at the age of nine they expect to learn a lot more in Berkshire.
There isn’t a great deal more to discover about Frodon but on Saturday, when his jockey needed him most, he delivered.
It's hard to think of a more popular chaser in training and as the clocks go back and the nights draw in, he was the right horse to pick up the baton from the bluebloods of the flat game.
The National Hunt season has started – and with a bang.