Faugheen pulled up as Mick Jazz delivers latest Leopardstown shock
BY JON LEES 3:10PM 29 DEC 2017
After a week of upsets at Leopardstown came the biggest shock of all on Friday when Faugheen was pulled up when well beaten in the Ryanair Hurdle.
The 2015 Champion Hurdle winner, beaten only once previously, was sent off a 1-6 favourite to complete what was expected to be a straightforward win in the Grade 1 prize.
But he proved a shadow of the horse who had returned from a long injury absence in such impressive fashion in the Morgiana Hurdle last month.
Paul Townend set out to try to make all the running on Faugheen but they were joined and then overtaken by stablemate Cilaos Emery, who went on after three flights.
As the rest of the field bunched up Faugheen started to back pedal after the third last and was quickly pulled up and dismounted by Townend before the next, a result which led bookmakers to make Buveur D'Air the odds-on favourite for the Stan James Champion Hurdle.
At the finish the Gordon Elliott-trained Mick Jazz edged out Cilaos Emery to land the spoils leaving Faugheen's trainer Willie Mullins, who lost Stayers' Hurdle winner Nichols Canyon to a fatal injury a day earlier, to contend with another unexpected Christmas setback.
On Tuesday Min, another he trains for the Ricci family, was disqualified from first place in the Grade 1 Paddy's Rewards Club Chase for interference to Simply Ned, who was awarded the race.
Rich Ricci said: "That crowns a bad week. Paul (Townend) said he pulled him up because he wasn't firing. He didn't appear to be lame but we'll know more later in the day."
Winning trainer Elliott said: "We were hoping he might run second or third but we couldn't see him beating Faugheen.
"Mick Jazz went to Cheltenham in March to run in the County Hurdle but went lame and was pulled out on the morning of the race. We bought him with a view to running him in some of the big jumps races in America.
"He's had his day in the sun today and I suppose he'll get a Champion Hurdle entry now. I own half of him with George Mahoney who is based in the US."
Mick Jazz's jockey Davy Russell said: "I did fancy him to be second back to two miles but it was great to get the win. He had to be tough to go and pass Cilaos Emery because he wasn't giving in too easy but he did."
Buveur D'Air, who won the Christmas Hurdle on Boxing Day at Kempton, is now 1-2 with Coral and Ladbrokes and 4-9 with Paddy Power to successful defend the crown he won in March.
Coral spokesman Simon Clare said: "This has been a bad Christmas for the Irish Cheltenham Festival challenge, with Faugheen now out of the Champion Hurdle picture, and Sizing John, Djakadam and Yorkhill denting their Festival hopes with poor performances yesterday.
"By contrast Nicky Henderson can start the New Year with a spring in his step, as both Might Bite and Buveur D'Air have taken over favouritism for the Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle respectively and seen their main market rivals underperform to boot."
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