Grade 1 racing glory for O’Brien and Mullins at end of busy Christmas period - Kilkenny Live

History repeated itself as a Kilkenny-based trainer landed the Christmas feature King George VI Chase at Kempton Park for the second year in a row.

On the back of the Shark Hanlon-trained Hewick providing a huge shock in the 3m Grade 1 over 12 months ago, there was more local success as Banbridge ran out a brilliant winner for the Joseph O’Brien yard.

In front of over 14,000 spectators, the eight year-old was given a brilliant ride by Paul Townend who picked up the mount as a spare on the back of stable jockey JJ Slevin being contracted to a couple of mounts at Leopardstown on St Stephen’s Day.

The French trained Il Est Francais looked to have the entire field in bother as he jumped fences for fun from the front but Townend and Banbridge ground him down after the final obstacle to claim the spoils at odds of 7-1.

It’s Banbridge’s third win at the top level after previously winning the Racehorse Lotto Manifesto Novices Chase at Aintree and the William Hill Champion Chase on the opening day of last year’s Punchestown Festival and O’Brien confirmed that the King George plan came about with the owner after the win at the Kildare track back in April.

“After Punchestown last year, Ronnie (Bartlett) said we should have a go at the King George. We made that plan and we prepared for it,” he said. “We had two runs and he was jumping sharp and travelling well. We felt he was ready to run his legs off and I’m very proud of him and the team at home.

“It’s really special. I grew up watching races like this. To even have a runner in the race was great, but to win it is a dream come true.”

Banbridge’s win which could set him up for a tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March was only the start of a wonderful few days for O’Brien as he also trained a Grade 1 double at Leopardstown with Solness (28-1) powering to victory in the Paddy’s Rewards Club Chase and Home by the Lee (15-8) battling past Bob Ollinger in the Savills Hurdle.

Despite missing the ride on Banbridge across the water, the Grade 1 double made it all worthwhile for O’Brien’s cousin JJ Slevin who had only just returned the week before Christmas and he was full of praise for the in form trainer.

“He’s unbelievable,” Slevin said. “Back years ago there were some very good men that were very successful under both codes, the likes of David Elsworth, and Joseph is up there with them. It may be a while before we see someone do what he’s done and he’s still only 31.”

O’Brien’s strike rate was in contrast to that of Willie Mullins who surprisingly only had seven winners from his 72 runners in Ireland between December 26 and 29.

Considering he had more than double that winning tally over the previous three years, it was a considerable drop in form for the Closutton outfit.

In saying all that though, the standout performance of the entire festive programme still appeared under his name as the incredible Galopin Des Champs showed he was as good as ever when winning the Savills Chase in impressive fashion in front of a bumper crowd at Leopardstown.

The 5-6 favourite and dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner came into the race with a few question marks after being turned over in his seasonal reappearance at Punchestown but this was as impressive as it gets as he turned over stablemate and upcoming youngster Fact To File to remain unbeaten at the Dublin venue.

“That was some performance,” said Mullins. “He put in some fantastic jumps and to win the way he did after giving the other horse a lead the whole way was one of the best performances I have ever seen around here.

“It’s frightening to think he could still be improving,” the trainer added. “Hopefully he hasn’t left his whole season behind him, but what a great day and a great atmosphere with people all around the parade ring.”

Away from Leopardstown, there was more Grade 1 success for Mullins as Impaire Et Passe won the Guinness 00 Faugheen Novice Chase at Limerick which saw Wexford rider Daryll Jacob bow out with a big victory but it’s back to the drawing board for the likes of Lossiemouth, Balluburn, State Man and Gaelic Warrior who all suffered high profile defeats over the last few days.