Gordon Elliott has enlisted Mark Walsh to steer Irish Point in the coming French Champion Hurdle at Auteuil this Saturday. With the reigning champ jockey, Jack Kennedy, currently on suspension, Walsh will for the first time partner with the grey as the Elliott trainee aims for the championship trophy this year. Irish Point, who came second to State Man in the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle and at Punchestown festival earlier this month, is considered a 5-4 favourite by some companies to clinch the French edition, the €390,000 Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil. The race covers an extra three miles and is set to commence at 2.15pm Irish time.
Additionally, four other challengers from Ireland hope to become the initial Irish-trained victors since Benie Des Dieux in 2019. Among them is the exceptionally well-liked Hewick. This year’s King George winner, who came fourth in the race the previous year, will be guided by Jordan Gainford, while Ben Harvey will be leading Mahler Mission, JJ Slevin guiding Home By The Lee, and Brian Hayes teamed with Mr Incredible.
Furthermore, Brian Hayes will also ride the only Irish runner in the French version of the Triumph Hurdle, the Prix Alain Du Breil, which will take place on Sunday. He will be paired with Philip Fenton’s Karl Des Tourelles in the race that is set to start at 4.55pm.
On a separate note, trainer Denis Hogan recently won an appeal against the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board (IHRB) regarding the controversial result of a race at Down Royal last week. It involves Hogan’s trainee, Benji’s Benefit, who had been obstructed by the eventual winner, Tell Us This, in a handicap hurdle. Despite the race-day stewards’ conclusions that the runner-up had been obstructed, and that Tell Us This’s jockey, Conor Stone Walsh, had acted incorrectly, they chose not to change the outcome of the race. Conor Stone Walsh received a nine-day ban, but it was deemed that his actions hadn’t enhanced his final result.
Hogan expressed his disappointment over the findings of the stewards investigation, however, on Friday, the IHRB verified that Benji’s Benefit has won the race due to his successful appeal. Meanwhile, the IHRB conveyed on the same day that Paul Townend’s plea to overturn his four-day ban, imposed for his reckless conduct during the Punchestown festival earlier this month, whilst riding State Man, was dismissed.
Townend’s penalty was a result of his horse, State Man, impeding his competitor, Irish Point, after the final in the Champion Hurdle. Despite the suspension, Townend is eligible to compete at Wexford on Saturday alongside Shaving, under the supervision of his superior Willie Mullins, in the kick-off event.