skip to main content

Grade One glory for The Yellow Clay in the mud at Naas

Updated / Sunday, 5 Jan 2025 16:17
The Yellow Clay is now unbeaten in his four outings over hurdles
The Yellow Clay is now unbeaten in his four outings over hurdles

The Yellow Clay extended his unbeaten record for the season to four with a facile victory in the Lawlor's of Naas Novice Hurdle.

A high-class bumper performer last season, Gordon Elliott’s six-year-old made a smart start to his career over hurdles at Down Royal before landing Grade Three and Grade Two prizes at Navan.

He was an 11-4 shot to successfully graduate to Grade One level in the hands of Sam Ewing and ultimately did so with relative ease.

With fellow Elliott runner Wingmen deployed in a pacesetting role, The Yellow Clay raced in third for much of the two-and-a-half-mile contest before joining his stablemate at the top of the home straight.

The Yellow Clay was travelling much the best jumping the second flight from the finish and soon kicked clear, safely negotiating the last before galloping up the run-in to seal an eight-length verdict.

Supersundae emerged best of four runners for Willie Mullins, making late gains to beat Wingmen to the runner-up spot.

The disappointment of the race was last season’s Champion Bumper hero Jasmin De Vaux, who beat two subsequent Leopardstown winners despite jumping poorly on his hurdling debut at Navan a month ago, but could not get away with it in this company and finished a well beaten fourth as the 11-8 favourite.

Of the winner, Elliott said: "He just knows how to win and is improving the whole time. I was very worried about the ground and was undecided about running him but I rang Noel (Moran, owner), who is in Turkey, and he gave me the green light.

"They went a good gallop all the way and Wingmen ran a good race as well.

"I'd imagine he (The Yellow Clay) will go straight to Cheltenham now. I loved the way he travelled today and if anything, he probably got there plenty soon. Sam said he hated the ground.

"The race in Navan, where he was a bit behind the bridle, probably helped to wake him up."

Ile Atlantique looks set to take high rank over fences judged on a dominant display in the Racing Post Novice Chase.

Twice placed in Grade Ones over hurdles last season, the Willie Mullins-trained gelding made a fine start to his chasing career at Navan and was a 13-8 chance to follow up at Grade Two level under Paul Townend.

Ile Atlantique’s supporters will have had few concerns, with the seven-year-old travelling strongly throughout the two-mile journey before moving into the lead in the back straight.

With the stands’ rail to help, Townend always looked happy he had the chasing trio covered from the home turn and he was pushed out from the final fence to score by five lengths, with Firefox second and 11-10 favourite Inthepocket only third.


Mullins said: "His efficient jumping won it for him. He loves that ground and from an early stage you could see he was jumping more efficiently than everything else.

"He's matured a lot and got stronger than last year, which is a big help, and fences might just be the making of him. Paul says when he sees a fence, he measures it himself and it just seems natural to him.

"We just have to keep that improvement in him for the season. His season tapered off a bit last year and maybe it was because of the drying ground in the spring.

"He’s one that we can now go two miles or two-and-a-half. We’ll look at the Dublin Racing Festival and see which direction we go.

"Majborough would be in the two-mile race (Irish Arkle) and maybe he could go along with him. We have a few for the two-mile-five-furlong race, which would look the place where Ballyburn would go"

Fun Fun Fun made an impressive start to her career over fences when leading home a one-two-three for the champion trainer in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Beginners Chase.

Bred and ridden by Patrick Mullins, the seven-year-old was a Grade Two bumper winner for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede and won at Listed and Grade Three level over hurdles.

She was a 7-2 shot for her first outing over the larger obstacles and having jumped well throughout on the front end, coasted clear in the home straight to register an emphatic seven-and-a-half-length success over stablemate Karia Des Blaises, with another Closutton inmate in Iris Emery back in third.

"She jumped well for a mare having her first run. She jumped the fifth last very well and got two lengths there which changed the race," said Willie Mullins.

"The Opera Hat back here next month could be a possibility.

"Karia Des Blaises jumped indifferently, which left her with too much to do, but she’ll get her turn and Iris Emery ran a cracker."

With heavy snow reducing visibility, Light Up The Dark was an appropriately named winner of the concluding Fifty Stars At Sunnyhill Stud (Pro/Am) INH Flat Race for Joseph O'Brien.

The previously unraced four-year-old justified 2-1 favouritism with a seven-length success in the hands of John Gleeson, who said: "It was a nice performance. Obviously it was very tough conditions but she did it very well.

"They are only four-year-olds and it’s early days for them, but you would have to be very pleased with her."

More stories on

Read Next