Weekend Preview/Review 
/ Timeform / 28 February 2012 / Leave a Comment 
Graham Wylie: Owner of Prince de Beauchene.
"Prince de Beauchene looks the outstanding candidate for the National at this point..."
Naas and Fairyhouse provided the Irish action this weekend, and we cast our eyes over some interesting horses for the weeks ahead, including the new favourite for the Grand National...
The opener at Fairyhouse was a Grade 2 juvenile hurdle which saw the debut of the much-heralded Minsk, who was so progressive on the Flat for John Oxx last autumn. In the event it was a rather underwhelming start as he went down by a neck to Burrenbridge Lodge, with Bat Masterson close up in third, but he was reportedly found to be suffering from a throat infection post race and will now head back to John Oxx's yard to race on the Flat before returning for a novice hurdle campaign next term. He may well have prevailed here anyway with slicker jumps at the last two flights, but on the downside the pair he split look exposed and no better than useful.
The feature event on the card was the Bobbyjo Chase over an extended three miles. This has been used as a stepping stone towards the Grand National in recent years and Prince de Beauchene was justifiably shortened (now trading at [9.8]) for the Aintree showpiece after an impressive 6 length victory over Black Apalachi.
He jumped well on the whole (only mistake at the fifth), took over two out and eased clear from there, value plenty more than the winning margin. He's still lightly raced, especially for this yard, and looks the outstanding candidate for the National at this point. Black Apalachi was returning from nearly two years on the sidelines so this has to go down as a pleasing display, but while he has an excellent record over the National fences a mark of 154 looks very harsh given that he is now well into the veteran stage of his career.
Sunday's card at Naas also threw up a Grand National contender as Seabass made it six wins on the bounce in the two-mile Grade 2 chase in spite of the trip. In truth it wasn't a strong race for the grade, with Tranquil Sea seemingly a shadow of his former self and Saludos hard to place with his Grade 2 penalty, but Seabass did show a cracking attitude to get back up and win by a length from Zaarito, who is on the comeback trail after an injury-lagued couple of years. Seabass will warrant respect at Aintree, certain to be 'well in' to an extent after this, though on a cautionary note his jumping isn't always foot perfect and he's yet to try beyond three miles.
The other graded action on the card saw wins for Rathlin and Felix Yonger. Rathlin produced another fine display of jumping to defeat Shot From The Hip by eight and a half lengths in the Woodlands Park 100 Club Nas Na Riogh Novice Chase over two and a half miles. He's set to bypass Cheltenham this term, but the Powers Gold Cup is reportedly on the agenda and he'll look well worth his place at that higher level, such is the impression created since he underwent a breathing operation and was fitted with a tongue strap.
Felix Yonger overcame the drop back to two miles in the novice hurdle half an hour later and continued the fine run being enjoyed by Graham Wylie-owned horses who have moved from Howard Johnson to Willie Mullins, the overall record of the quartet who have made it to the track now seven out of ten. Felix Yonger has the scope for further progression, too, but one of the Grade 1 novices at Cheltenham will require a marked step up for him to get competitive, while his target remains up in the air, so he makes little appeal for ante-post betting purposes.
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