Bachasson beats Cilaos Emery in the Clonmel Oil Chase; Shattered Love impresses again

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It was Mullins' sixth victory in the last eight runnings of the race and his duo dominated from the outset as testing conditions took their toll on the five runners.

Cilaos Emery was all the rage beforehand having last been seen finishing fourth in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, but his jumping let him down at crucial stages and he was never quite able to get to grips with the winner.

Bachasson (9/4 fav) was sent straight into the lead by jockey David Mullins and though his jumping wasn't always foot-perfect, it was generally more reliable than that of his rivals and he had built up a handy advantage as he led the field into the final turn for home.

Still, Cilaos Emery did appear to be making inroads until Bachasson found a couple of good leaps at the final two fences to keep his stablemate at bay before galloping five and a half lengths clear on the run-in.

Mullins said: “He was very brave and David had lots of confidence in him – I thought he had gone too far out, but I think he had more confidence in the horse than I had.

“Paul thought Cilaos Emery needed the race and I’m happy with both nice horses.”

He went on: “After Bachasson got a fall in Cheltenham I wasn’t keen to go back over fences with him, but around these country tracks he is fine. He seems to enjoy doing that.

“I didn’t look beyond today and we wanted to come down here and see where we were with them, although Cilaos Emery could now go for the Hilly Way at Cork.”

Shattered Love all class at Clonmel

Shattered Love proved a class apart from her three rivals in the T.A. Morris Memorial Irish EBF Mares Chase.

Gordon Elliott's former Cheltenham-Festival winning mare was sent off the marginal 11/8 favourite ahead of Cabaret Queen and that pair had the race to themselves from some way out until Shattered Love took control of proceedings with a couple of fences to jump.

Cabaret Queen came into this race on the back of victory in the Kerry National and tried to put her stamina to good use by setting the early fractions, but Shattered Love always had her in her sights and winning jockey Mark Walsh cut a confident figure as the pair swung for home and he eased his mount into the lead.

Cabaret Queen had no answers as Shattered Love cleared the penultimate fence in good style and began to clear away, with a hairy moment at the last failing to halt her momentum as she went on to score by 10 lengths.

A tired Cabaret Queen finished well-beaten but she just held off Western Victory for second.

“She loves it around here, it was her third win from her third run and she seems to be a lot better in her own grade against other mares,” said Walsh.

“She has won two Grade Ones as a novice but finds it easier against her own sex.

“I’m delighted with how she did it and jumped brilliantly bar the last when we had a little mix up, but she was good.”

Shattered Love was completing a quickfire double for Elliott who earlier struck with Sassy Yet Classy (14/1), a battling winner of the Clonmel Oil Service Station Handicap Hurdle under Denis O'Regan.

The Prior Park Service Station Clonmel Handicap Chase went the way of Spancil Hill (8/1) who produced a quick leap at the last before staying-on well enough to repel the fast-finishing Hoke Colburn.