John Durkan Chase reaction after Gaelic Warrior fends off Fact To File

Just how deep did Warrior have to dig?

The three-mile chasing picture hasn’t looked quite so healthy for a long time.

And welcome to the party, Gaelic Warrior.

He was sort of on the scene last season, of course, having beaten Grey Dawning by three lengths in the Bowl at Aintree in April, but had started the campaign as a Champion Chase hope and, having made a bit of a mess of those plans at the DRF, was in all probability heading for the Ryanair had he been fit and ready for Cheltenham in March.

He finally looks set to try and fulfil his potential as a stayer after fighting bravely to beat top-class stablemate Fact To File in Sunday’s John Durkan.

Connections had strongly suggested Gaelic Warrior was fresh and well heading into his seasonal debut but even Paul Townend seemed a bit taken aback by quite how fresh over those first five fences and, despite looking a sitting duck when Fact To File loomed between the last couple, remarkably there was still something left in reserve.

Just how low that tank got for Gaelic Warrior in the final strides will come into question now he’s been slashed to around 6/4 for the King George but in pure form terms you’ll do well to find a stronger chase this side of Christmas.

Fact To File, the 2024 Brown Advisory and 2025 Ryanair Chase winner, did flirt with the big boys in the three-mile category last season but he’ll be geared towards another Ryanair and looks to have resumed very close to peak form.

We obviously can't forget Galopin Des Champs at this point - still the daddy of the division for some - and he'll presumably take the world of beating again in Leopardstown's Savills Chase despite skipping the John Durkan on this occasion, while (given the Cromwell stable's quiet spell) Inothwayurthinkin ran a satisfactory enough race in fifth, but how about Fastorslow as the dark one from Sunday's big race?

He did finish third so will hardly slip completely under the radar but it's worth stressing he was 29 lengths adrift of the two protagonists up top and he's been pushed out to 20/1 for the King George with a few major firms. It's a big gap to make up, even allowing for the fact that it was his first run for a year, but that revised price might look a juicy one provided his trainer Martin Brassil is still making the right noises about bringing him over in the next few weeks.

Pauling power the best of British?

The Saturday action in the UK can sometimes pale into insignificance after Willie Mullins and co fire their big bullets on a Sunday. That's definitely been the overriding feeling at times during the past few seasons, but it doesn't look to be the case this weekend which is promising.

I’ve often wondered how many times Ben Pauling, Harry Redknapp and everyone connected to The Jukebox Man have replayed those heart-breaking final moments of the 2024 Albert Bartlett in their heads, but that will all be forgotten if their horse can deliver a famous King George triumph this Christmas, and they’d be forgiven for daring to dream about a realistic shot at the Gold Cup too after Saturday.

OK, Haydock runner-up Iroko may not have been cherry-ripe for his Graduation Chase comeback, and the third is rated just 127, but I absolutely loved the way The Jukebox Man took that race to bits and, setting his next assignment aside for a moment, he’s not as big as 25s in my antepost book for Cheltenham in March.

Nicky Henderson’s Arkle winner Jango Baie also deserves a mention here. He has evidently ‘graduated’ to open company with flying colours too on the back of his 1965 Chase win at Ascot, but will he stay three miles, two and a half furlongs? We’ll know more on that score and where he slots into the puzzle when he tries a true staying trip for the first time in his life next month, but Gaelic Warrior is a different level of rival if they both line up at Kempton and he (Jango) is currently a lot shorter for the Ryanair than the Gold Cup and I get that.

Grey Dawning is the shortest-priced, British-based Gold Cup hope after beating Royale Pagaille – almost on the bridle – in the Betfair Chase. It may not look like he had a hard race on the face of it, and he clearly didn’t go to the well quite to the same extent as when unable to fend off the same rival in the same race last year, but he’ll know he’s been in a contest and a light campaign looks a wise plan.

He’s 16s for the big one but there’s no mad scramble to take those odds as he’s just the sort of horse to drift after a relatively quiet prep race in something like the Cotswold Chase in January or the Denman at Newbury the following month.

Eight horses with some big days ahead and some fascinating battles to come. The picture is healthy alright, let's hope it stays that way right through to the spring.

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