Back In Focus wins an absorbing battle against Aupcharlie in Topaz Novice Chase
Back In Focus held his nerves to overcome the challenge from his stable mate, Aupcharlie, in the Topaz Novice Chase Grade 1 at Leopardstown in Ireland on Friday, December 28, 2012.
Both runners gave their best shot and entertained the spectators at the venue. However, the former of the two ended up having the last laugh, as he finished on top of the table in the all important class-1 clash.
He was under immense pressure, as the start was not a very good one for him. Moreover, the ground was also soft, so he had to push extremely hard in order to catch the rest of the contestants.
Despite all that, the Irish challenger did not give up and kept on making up places before he came in a position to fight for a victory. He pressed really hard towards the final few yards, eventually winning the race by a head distance.
This was his third consecutive chase victory and probably the most important one, as it came in a Grade 1 competition. His team was ecstatic after such a strong result, which helped them earn a cash prize of £40,625.00 in the end.
Willie Mullins, who trained the top-two finishers, really enjoyed the thrilling battle between them and praised their skills.
His views on Back In Focus were, “He’s a relentless galloper. He wants every inch of three miles. I didn’t think for a second that he was going to get up and pip my other horse. You’d imagine that Back In Focus has the RSA Chase written all over him wouldn't
you?”
The RSA Chase is scheduled to take place at Cheltenham in England next year. Some high quality performers have been attracted towards it and they will be looking to train hard for the all important event.
Coming back to yesterday’s encounter, Mullins went onto say, “As happy as I am for everyone involved with Back In Focus my heart goes out to Aupcharlie who ran such a good race. I’d imagine I’ll be dropping him down in trip now. The way the second horse
jumped he can probably come back to two and a half miles - we might even come back to two miles.”
Tags: