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The roar that greeted Majborough as he powered clear in the Ladbrokes Dublin Chase was a testament to a coming-of-age performance, but for those backing the reigning Queen Mother Champion Chase hero, the 19-length defeat of Marine Nationale was not the disaster the distance suggested.
On ground that Barry Connell described as the “heaviest I’ve seen in 25 years,” Marine Nationale was sent off the 5/4 favourite to assert his authority over the two-mile division. Instead, he found himself in a persistent scrap for minor honours, eventually grabbing second near the line from a tiring Found A Fifty, while Majborough galloped into the distance.
It was a performance of two halves for the nine-year-old. After a jolting error at the second fence—a haunting echo of his Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase mishap in December—Marine Nationale looked to be struggling under Sean Flanagan. He was niggled along early and appeared out of his comfort zone as Mark Walsh dictated a relentless tempo on the winner.
However, the “back in the mix” narrative took hold between the final two flights. Despite the swamp-like conditions, Marine Nationale began to pick up, showing the grit that has occasionally been overshadowed by his natural flair. While he was never catching the winner, his late rally to secure the runner-up spot over a battle-hardened field—including a fading Energumene—showed his engine remains fully intact.
The post-race reaction from the Barry Connell camp was one of quiet defiance rather than disappointment. The trainer has never hidden his belief that Marine Nationale is a horse that “breathes” the Cotswolds air differently.
“He’s been to Cheltenham twice, he’s won twice, and he hasn’t come off the bridle twice,” Connell noted. “The easiest thing would have been to pull him out today, but he needed the run. We know our horse loves a sounder surface and a hill; he didn’t get either of those today.”
The bookmakers were swift to react, with Unibet pushing Marine Nationale out to 3/1 for the Queen Mother Champion Chase, while Majborough was slashed to 7/4 favouritism.
Yet, history is on the side of the defending champion. Much like his Supreme Novices’ Hurdle campaign, Marine Nationale arrives at the Cheltenham Festival with something to prove. If the rain stays away from Gloucestershire in March, the 19 lengths he has to find with Majborough will feel like a much shorter bridge to cross.
For the purists, a rematch on spring ground is the mouth-watering prospect of the week. Majborough may have won the battle of the Dublin Racing Festival, but the war for the crown will be fought on very different terrain.
