Arkle star Gaelic Warrior finally gets the chance to show he is a major Champion Chase player

The Champion Chase winner versus the Arkle winner, but this race revolves around Gaelic Warrior. The new kid on the block is odds-on with some firms and no bigger than 7-2 to take Captain Guinness' Champion Chase crown next March. This will give us a clear indication of where we stand with him. 

Jonbon, who is 5-2 for the Queen Mother, has already been out twice and won the Shloer and the Tingle Creek. Gaelic Warrior has yet to be seen but, when Willie Mullins opted to swerve the King George, a race for which he was ante-post favourite, we knew he meant business over the minimum trip. It is time to see what he is made of against the big boys. 

Gaelic Warrior won first-time-out in 2022 by 86 lengths, albeit in an awful race, and he had 15 lengths to spare over Inothewayurthinkin on his return to action last season. He obviously goes well fresh and you get the impression if the real Gaelic Warrior shows up here, he will be extremely hard to beat. 

We can argue all we like about his tendency to jump right, but he's got top-class form going this way round and his highest Racing Post Rating of 172 was in last season's Arkle. He tends to cope. 

Marine Nationale, the brilliant winner of the 2023 Supreme, won his first six races in a row but has now been beaten in his last two and produced a rather underwhelming reappearance at Naas when no match for Quilixios. There is big improvement needed on that. 

Found A Fifty is rock solid. Unlike Gaelic Warrior, you know exactly what you a\re going to get from him. He now has seven RPRs of 152 or higher on his record and has won both his starts this season. He's a Grade 1 winner at this track too, but there is that nagging doubt he cannot beat an on-song Gaelic Warrior, as we saw in the Arkle. 

The aforementioned Captain Guinness seems a different animal in the spring and last year's winner Dinoblue has plenty to find in this hotter heat judging by her Hilly Way effort.

'He's a beast' - Mullins excited about being reunited with Warrior

Record-breaking champion amateur Patrick Mullins thinks Gaelic Warrior is a "beast" and the best horse in this race, but reckons if he is to be beaten this season, it could be here against match-fit opponents. 

Mullins was on board Gaelic Warrior last Christmas, too. That Limerick race has become best known for his antics after the line, where Patrick and cousin Danny had a few cross words, but it is worth remembering he coasted to a comfortable success over Il Etait Temps. That from didn't work out too badly. 

He bombed out at the Dublin Racing Festival afterwards and was beaten at Punchestown too, but sandwiched in between was a breathtaking Arkle win. When he's good, he's awesome. 

Gaelic Warrior: the best horse in the race according to Patrick MullinsCredit: Donall Farmer

Mullins said: "Two miles it seems is the chosen direction but then plans can and do change. Leopardstown has not been a particularly happy hunting ground; he scraped home in a handicap hurdle and then blew out spectacularly at the Dublin Racing Festival last season; coincidence perhaps. The addition of a hood certainly helped at Cheltenham. 

"While he is the best horse in the race, if he were to be vulnerable this year, then perhaps it would be this day, taking on horses who have all had a run, on ground that will be very different to his two best performances last year. But I can't wait to get back on him. He is a beast."

What they say 

Henry de Bromhead, trainer of Captain Guinness
He was brilliant in the Champion Chase last season and hopefully we can get him back to that sort of level. He seems to be in good form at home and I'm happy with him.

Gordon Elliott, trainer of Found A Fifty
He had an entry in the King George, but he's so good over two miles and loves Leopardstown that we said this was the right race for him. He never lets us down and hasn't finished out of the first two since we sent him over fences. There was a nice gap between the Fortria at Navan and Christmas and he seems to have done very well at home over the last few weeks.

Barry Connell, trainer of Marine Nationale
It's going to be the first time he's going to get ideal ground since he won his maiden hurdle at Punchestown. His work has been very good and we gave him a racecourse school at Punchestown as we needed to get more experience into him, so I'm not worried about his jumping. It's a deep race but I think conditions will suit him very well. He was ready to start off the last day but he'd want to improve for it in a race like this. We're extremely happy with where he is.

Joseph O'Brien, trainer of Solness
He has been consistent and an admirable performer and he seems in good form. Hopefully he can continue in that vein of form and run another good race.

Keith Donoghue, rider of Visionarian
He's a good horse on his day, as he showed at Gowran earlier in the season, but he has his work cut out against these guys. Hopefully he runs his race.

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