Disappointingly for those fans of the Hunter Chase scene, the cancellation of the Champion Hunter Chase, as part of the decision to not run this year’s Punchestown Festival amid the current COVID-19 outbreak, has deprived us the opportunity to enjoy another edition of the great race.
2020 has already proven to be a great year for the Irish Hunter Chasers, with the earlier races at Down Royal and Naas in particular drawing top quality line-ups, whilst Irish horses dominated in the Cheltenham Foxhunters, filling three of the top four spots in Prestbury Park, with It Came To Pass, Billaway and Staker Wallace.
In the absence of the Punchestown feature, we take a look back at some of the more notable battles that have featured in the race across the last three decades.
1993 - Kerry Orchid Versus Elegant Lord
This was the year that Merry Gale emerged and made a massive impact with two facile victories. Matt Reid, Bob-A Ru and Florida Sky were all among the leading campaigners, while the veteran, Ah Whist, had won the Joseph O’Reilly for P P Hogan under Brian Moran.
The Champion Hunter Chase saw a Tony Martin-ridden Kerry Orchid in the colours of Peter Curling for Edward O’Grady, hold off John Berry and Elegant Lord for Enda Bolger and J P McManus.
Kerry Orchid took two Opens (Lisgoold & Patrickswell) before his only Hunter Chase defeat at Cheltenham behind the exceptional Double Silk.
He also won two Hunter Chases in 1993, with the first being at Thurles beating Matt Reid and Over The Edge, and the second being the Champion at Punchestown.
Philip Fenton was aboard for the two ppen wins and Tony Martin for all Hunter Chase runs. On this occasion Kerry Orchid may have had the advantage of experience for this three parts of a length success.
Both he and Elegant Lord were only five-year-olds at this stage and little was known of them but as time has passed it has become clear that this was one of the best battles that this race has ever produced.
1994 - Elegant Lord beats Teaplanter
Having finished second a year earlier, Elegant Lord, now a six-year-old and with more experience, returned to Punchestown with three Hunter Chase successes under his belt with his trainer Enda Bolger aboard having returned to race-riding from a short retirement.
Caroline Bailey’s Tea Planter was 11 and one of the UK’s leading Hunters’ and the pair ultimately drew 25 lengths clear of their rivals.
Teaplanter had been a very creditable second at Cheltenham to Double Silk earlier in the season, but still could not overcome the up and coming six-year-old.
Time would tell there was no shame in this, as Elegant Lord went on to win the Cheltenham Foxhunters, and in doing so saw off a future Cheltenham Gold Cup winner in Cool Dawn.
He was arguably the classiest Hunter Chaser never to relinquish his Hunter Cert.
ELEGANT LORD and Enda Bolger are led in by Sean Connery after the Hunters Chase @punchestownrace in 1996. pic.twitter.com/PWiAb5cCyP
— Anaglogs Daughter (@AnaglogsDaughtr) April 30, 2020
1997 - Dixon Varner beats Stay In Touch
In the absence of Elegant Lord ,a new champion was crowned in 1997, but the prize remained in the care of Enda Bolger, courtesy of Dixon Varner.
Top chasers Bob Treacy and Flashing Steel began a trend of older horses returning to points but could not quite emerge on top.
What A Hand won three and Wilbar won fourk, but Stay In Touch and Dixon Varner were the leading pair with the latter John Magnier-owned seven year-old beating Stay In Touch in the Champion at Punchestown to also seal the overall crown for the season.
What was notable about this clash was that the winner was ridden by a young amateur named Ruby Walsh, who was having one of his first ever rides over racecourse obstacles, and this was the ride that many sat up and took notice at the crack bumper riders ability over fences.
2003 - What Odds beats Sheltering Codd brothers
Dorans Pride returned to points with effect this season and Joe Blake was again prominent among our Hunters when third at Leopardstown and winning the Tetretema under the late John Thomas McNamara.
Sheltering, now under new partner Gordon Elliott, started well winning at Punchestown and Leopardstown and finished eighth to Kingscliff at Cheltenham.
He then fell heavily at the chair at Aintree, badly injuring Elliott’s arm, so it was under a young Jamie Codd that he contested the Punchestown Champion Hunter Chase.
Codd’s older and more experienced brother Willie however had also picked up a chance mount on the Tucker Geraghty-trained What Odds in the absence of both Norman Geraghty and Denis Cullen.
Part-owned by Mike Futter, who also owned Montys Pass, What Odds came out on top of the battle of the Codd brothers and went on to win under Willie by ten lengths.
He would prove to be a great servant to the Geraghty family in later years, with Norman, Ross, Barry, Jill and Holly all riding him in races through the years, with his final race coming as a 15-year-old at The Pigeons in March 2011.
2009 - Baby Run beats Agus A Vic and Whyso Mayo
Pat Martin’s Agus A Vic was a top Irish Hunter Chaser, who never produced his best form when travelling across the Irish Sea, whilst Baby Run was a top class Hunter Chaser for Nigel Twiston-Davies coming to take on the Irish Champion on home turf.
Pat Martin’s Agus A Vic was a top Irish Hunter Chaser, who never produced his best form when travelling across the Irish Sea, whilst Baby Run was a top class Hunter Chaser for Nigel Twiston-Davies coming to take on the Irish Champion on home turf.
Coming into this race, Baby Run had already finished third to Cappa Bleu in the Cheltenham Foxhunters, but he would go on to win the feature in 2010, and all the time under the talented young trainers son Sam.
Agus A Vic would be ridden in the Punchestown feature by Brian O’Connell who was replacing an injured Jamie Codd.
The now 12-year-old and former Foxhunters winner, Whyso Mayo, under Colman Sweeney also played a big part in the race, but Bay Run narrowly overcame the Irish Champion Agus A Vic and went on to be one of the best of his generation, while the runner-up went on to the track after two Hunter Chase runs the following season so it would prove to be the final meeting of the pair.
