Tranquil Sea looks swell in Clonmel Oil Chase
For those who think that there is no such concept as too much of a good thing, Edward O’Grady has other ideas.
Tranquil Sea, the winner of the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham 12 months ago, started his new campaign in satisfactory style when he won the Grade Two Clonmel Oil Chase. He was never in danger of being beaten and Andrew McNamara eased him upsides long-time leader Let Yourself Go coming to the second-last.
Once in front Tranquil Sea hardly let himself go in the heavy ground but just had to be pushed out to the line to win by two lengths. “I was pleased with that,” McNamara said. “I didn't know how the horse in front of me was going, I didn't know if he was cantering or had nothing and I went by him a little easier than I expected, but he had a run around going to the last. I think it’s a bit of lairiness – it’s not the first time he’s done that in front. I’d say that he’ll come on from the run but he wasn’t much short – he was fit enough.”
Tranquil Sea did not see out the trip when upped in distance for the Grade One Punchestown Guinness Gold Cup last April and the jockey believes that this distance of two-and-a-half miles is his optimum. “He’s won a Grade One hurdle over two-and-a-half and won the Paddy Power, two-five, so I reckon that’s his best,” McNamara pointed out.
The intermediate distance may be right but O’Grady wanted to be sure that the horse also knew the difference between left and right, or could at least handle going both ways round on a race course.
“What I really wanted to establish is that he’s as good right-handed as left-handed. We were thinking that he was inclined to jump a bit left, which he did a bit last year. A lot of the races I wanted to go for are right-handed.”
That successfully established O’Grady will now look at running Tranquil Sea in the Grade One John Durkan Memorial Chase at Punchestown next month. “It would look logical wouldn’t it? It’s local so why not but, long-term, I’d say the Ryannair.”
For O’Grady the long-term goal is not going to be sacrificed for short-term gains. Last season Tranquil Sea won the Grade Two Newlands Chase, when it was rescheduled for late February, and the trainer believes that run may have taken the edge off his horse when he ran a lifeless race at the Cheltenham Festival three weeks later.
“I think I’d prefer to keep him fresh,” O’Grady said. "I’d envisage maybe one run between the Durkan and the Ryannair. Last year they very generously moved the abandoned race from Naas to Leopardstown and he won it very well but I think it turned out to be a step too far, too close to Cheltenham. He ran a very flat race at Cheltenham and we were a bit disappointed.”
There are likely to be plenty disappointed in this year’s renewal of the Paddy Power Chase with a field of 20 due to go to post at Cheltenham on Saturday.
Noel Fehily has stepped into the gap left in the Paul Nicholls yard since Ruby Walsh broke his leg in a fall at Down Royal on Saturday.
Fehily, who will ride Tchico Polos in the big race, continued his good run for the Nicholls yard this week. Having ridden a double at Exeter on Tuesday he booted home a treble for the champion trainer at Taunton.
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