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Marine Nationale ready for Festive challenge

Marine Nationale, emotional winner of last year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase, will make his belated seasonal reappearance in the Grade 1 Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase at Leopardstown on 27 December.

MARINE NATIONALE.
MARINE NATIONALE. Picture: Getty Images

Winner of the Grade 1 Supreme Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2023, Barry Connell's charge missed almost his entire novice chase campaign due to a suspensory injury and had to learn on the job in open company.

Placed in Grade 1 company at Leopardstown over the winter, he came into last year's Cheltenham Festival as one of the leading contenders and produced an emphatic victory in the Champion Chase, defeating Jonbon by eighteen lengths.

He backed up the performance at the Punchestown Festival, winning the Grade 1 Champion Chase ahead of experienced veteran Captain Guinness.

Speaking to Paddy Power, Connell said:

"He's on target for the Paddy's Rewards Club Chase – look you work for a betting company and I'd say there's more of a chance of them having to water.

"The amount of rain that we've had is minimal and if it doesn't rain, they might have to water. The horse won the Supreme on soft ground and in the Royal Bond it was soft – he just doesn't want bottomless, heavy winter ground on his first run back.

"We're in a different situation this year – the year before, he missed most of his novice season with a suspensory injury. Then in open company, he was coming in a bit behind the eight ball.

"He didn't have the chasing experience and it took a bit of building over the season to find his feet. When you're going two-mile champion chase speed, you need to learn on the job and he picked up experience.

"We're not expecting that this time as his jumping is excellent and he didn't miss a beat at Cheltenham and Punchestown and he has been to a racecourse for a schooling session.

"At eight-years-old, nine the horse is finished in respect to not getting any bigger, but he has had a very good summer and is in a good place both physically and mentally.

"There have been no hold ups with him, he'll come on for the run but he's fit and well, everything is good and I'm looking forward to the 27th."


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