Solness and Skylight Hustle take Leopardstown wins

On Saturday’s day two of the Christmas Festival in Leopardstown, Solness and Skylight Hustle won the Grace One races.

Solness (8-1) defeated Marine Nationale (2-1) by half a length to win the Club Chase Steeplechase, which he won 12 months prior.

As the two horses jumped the final fence in a thrilling four-way battle, Sam Ewing’s mount acting as a strong frontrunner over trainer Joseph O’Brien.

The jockey Sean Flanagan did well to stay in the saddle before winning the race on the first try before the run-in, but Barry Connell-trained Marine Nationale had to suffer the setback of hitting the third of the eleven fences.

After the race, winning trainer O’Brien told RTE, “He’s tough as nails and he loves racing at Leopardstown.”

Majborough, a favorite for the pre-race, came in third (4-4).

After Talk The Talk fell at the final fence, Skylight Hustle seized control of the two-mile Novices Hurdle, taking full advantage of it.

The eventual winner had been stylishly entered by Jack Kennedy, but Joseph O’Brien’s challenger quickly extended their lead by half a length going to the last.

Talk The Talk landed too far in the air and struggled to maintain his balance just as Ewing was about to receive two Grade Ones on the card replacing JJ Slevin who had suffered a concussion.

The 3-1 favorite ended up winning by 5 lengths over Carrigmoornaspruce (12-1) and finishing third with Love Me Tender (4-1).

On RTE, Elliott said, “The horse jumped like a buck the entire way and traveled like a dream.”

I initially believed that the team was defeated when I watched the re-run, but I wasn’t sure about how my lad galloped from the last to the line.

When Jack arrived, he said, “I can’t guarantee I would have won, but I wasn’t definitely beat.” He claimed that the transition from the last to the last line was very enjoyable.

El Cairos fell in front of the final, which is why it’s called jump racing, but it happened yesterday.