Connell content with Marine Nationale comeback effort

Barry Connell remains confident can establish himself as a legitimate Queen Mother Champion Chase contender, despite his comeback defeat at Naas on Sunday.

The seven-year-old looked a potential star in the making after stretching his unbeaten record to five in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival and made a fine start to his career over fences at Leopardstown last Christmas.

However, he subsequently disappointed in the Irish Arkle and missed the rest of the season, meaning his outing in Sunday’s Barberstown Castle Chase was his first in nine months.

Odds-on backers had their fingers burnt, with Marine Nationale unable to reel in the front-running Quilixios, but his owner-trainer feels there were plenty of positives in his performance.

“He has very little experience, his novice campaign was truncated, so that was only his third run over fences and I thought he jumped well in the body of the race,” said Connell.

“He was a little sticky at the first, but down the back he made up a lot of ground over five or six of the fences there. He was travelling very well turning in and looked like the winner and I’d say the winner got the run of the race and jumped from fence to fence.

“If the winner wasn’t in it, we’d have been a good winner and I’m very happy that he came out of the race great.”

Paddy Power eased Marine Nationale’s Queen Mother Champion Chase odds to 16-1 from 9-1, but Connell believes it is too early to dismiss his claims just yet, with a return to Grade One level at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival next on his agenda.

He added: “It’s all systems go for Leopardstown at Christmas and the rest of the campaign to head on to the Queen Mother.

“I’d be very happy that he’ll improve a ton for that run yesterday and there’s very little mileage on the clock – that was his eighth run in total.

“He’ll be grand and he’ll be one of the contenders come March anyway.”