Connell backing Marine Nationale to bridge Majborough gap

Barry Connell remains confident Marine Nationale will put up a staunch defence his crown in the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham next month.

The trainer and owner has never been shy in talking up his pride and joy and he has twice lived up to the billing at Prestbury Park, winning the 2023 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle before clinching the two-mile chasing crown with a sensational 18-length victory last March.

He has had to make do with the runner-up spot on two outings at Leopardstown this season, but the nine-year-old would almost certainly have won over Christmas but for a jolting early error – and Connell is relishing a rematch with his recent Dublin Racing Festival conqueror Majborough in the Cotswolds.

Speaking at a press morning organised by The Jockey Club at his Boherbaun Stables in County Kildare on Monday, the trainer said: “He’s been to Cheltenham twice, he’s won twice and hasn’t come off the bridle twice.

“I live near Leopardstown and in the last 25 years I’ve never seen rain like we had before the Dublin Racing Festival. It’s the heaviest ground I’ve ever seen up there and the easiest thing would have been not to run him, but I didn’t think it would do him any harm.

“He never got into a rhythm in the early part of the race and was out of his comfort zone, but to his credit when they slowed it down halfway down the back he started to get back into it again.

“I think we’ll see a different horse again in March. That is not just my opinion, that is backed up by the form book when you look at what he does when he goes there every year.

“He’s nine years of age and in the prime of his life and we’re looking forward to going back there.”

Marine Nationale has 19 lengths to find with Majborough on their Dublin Chase clash, but while Connell respects the threat posed by the Willie Mullins-trained gelding, he feels there are plenty of reasons to believe his stable star can bridge the gap at the Festival.

“Majborough put in an excellent performance and I think his jump index was absolutely off the radar – not only did he not make a mistake, but he met every fence spot-on,” he continued.

“If you look at official ratings, Majborough is rated 174 and we were 170 and have dropped 1lb to 169. He’s run to 174 in perfect conditions, making no mistake and on a galloping track that suits him.

“On the day in Leopardstown we were beaten 19 lengths and you would say ‘how are we going to reverse that’?, but they were extreme conditions and we know our horse loves Cheltenham.

“He rode out this morning, it’s the first day he’s had a saddle on him since Leopardstown, he’s eating his hay and he’s eating his food and there’s not a bother on him, so we haven’t done any damage.

“On official ratings we’ve 5lb to make up and I hope it will be a different story come Cheltenham.”

Majborough is the 13-8 market leader for the Champion Chase with Unibet, who make Marine Nationale a 5-2 shot and one-time favourite Il Etait Temps a 7-1 shot.

The latter was last seen suffering a heavy fall in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot, a race Connell branded a “Mickey Mouse race” after Jonbon beat Thistle Ask.

His comments inevitably raised a few eyebrows, but Connell is more than happy to back his judgement.

He added: “For context I said it ended up being a Mickey Mouse race, which it did, because there were only two finishers.

“That was supposed to be a trial for the Champion Chase and the winner is not even going to run in it and the second horse is 50-1, so that’s why I called it a Mickey Mouse race.

“Jonbon is not a yardstick to be measuring Champion Chase horses against. He’s had a fantastic career, he’s been a credit to his connections and everyone would love to have him, but he’s never won a championship race. He’s going round collecting races like the Shloer Chase and the Celebration Chase, beating Boothill and Edwardstone.

“Il Etait Temps got a rating of 172 for beating Jonbon in the Celebration Chase last season and the Tingle Creek this season and if you look at the time for the Tingle Creek it was a fence slower than the race Lulamba won on the same day, so it was nothing of a race.

“I just say what I think and people are probably fed up listening to me bigging up my own horses. I’m not going to do it again, only for him, because I know how good he is.”