Connell keen to gauge Majborough potential at Cork

Barry Connell will be eagerly watching how Majborough gets on in Sunday’s Hilly Way Chase at Cork ahead of a potential clash with Marine Nationale later in the season.

Connell’s Marine Nationale sets the standard in the two-mile chase division having won the Queen Mother at Cheltenham before following up at Punchestown.

The pair are joint-favourites for the Champion Chase with the majority of bookmakers but are on course to meet before then at Leopardstown at both Christmas and the Dublin Racing Festival, should Majborough come through this weekend in good shape.

“Majborough could be Marine’s biggest rival and I suppose if he hadn’t made those jumping errors, he could have won the Arkle,” said Connell.

“They all finished in a heap but it’s actually working out really well. Jango Baie came out and won, as has L’Eau Du Sud and Only By Night too.

“Majborough is in the same position we were last year, he needs to make the leap to open company whereas we’ve had a year in open company.

“Majborough did have a full novice campaign whereas we only had two runs, so we started behind the eight ball with limited experience. It was always going to be a question of Marine needing those early runs to get that experience.

“Particularly for two-milers, jumping at that speed, it’s more necessary to get that experience than over further when they aren’t jumping at speed.

“Marine ended the season with those two great runs last year then went out to grass, he’s come in in great fettle – it was just a shame Navan got called off the first day and he couldn’t run there in the Fortria.

“I wasn’t tempted at all by the Tingle Creek. We have a perfect programme for him, we know he’s better on better ground so he’ll go to Leopardstown at Christmas and the Dublin Racing Festival before defending his crown at Cheltenham. Leopardstown is half an hour away and four races is perfect for him.

“He had an easy week after missing the Fortria, we’ll build him back up but he won’t do much as he’s a light horse and he’s not that hard to get fit.

“We’ve got the joint-favourite for the Queen Mother and the third favourite for the Champion Hurdle in William Munny, it’s never going to happen to us again. We are a small stable and these are horses of a lifetime. To have one is a miracle but to have two is incredible.”