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Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)
“title =” Patrick Mullins celebrates his victory aboard Sharjah “class =” js-imageLoader “data-at-xn =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/12/29/ 86678-medium .jpeg “data-br-n =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/12/29/86678-medium.jpeg “data-br-m =” https: // www .rp-assets.com / images / news / 2020/12/29/86678-large.jpeg “data-br-w =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020 / 12/29/86678-large.jpeg “data-br-xw =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/12/29/86678-large.jpeg “onclick =” return false; “>
By David Jennings
Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t know. Sharjah was staring us in the face; It couldn’t have been more obvious.
Not only did he win the Matheson Hurdle for the past two years, but he was the top-rated runner in the race by 5 pounds and was also second in last season’s Champion Hurdle. What more convincing do you need?
The problem is that we prefer the potential. Sharjah was second in last season’s Champion Hurdle, but Saint Roi could win this season’s. That’s why he was a favorite, why Abacadabras was the second favorite and why Sharjah was 11-2.
“He’s a bit like Harchibald in that he gives you everything at the helm, but he’s also tough when he comes out of it,” Sharjah rider Patrick Mullins later said.
Harchibald earned five grade 1s in his career, Sharjah now has four and a Galway Hurdle on his CV. It was about time he got the recognition he deserved considering he was following in the sacred footsteps of Istabraq and Hurricane Fly by winning this race for the third time, although those two legends added a fourth each.
Sometimes you forget that Patrick Mullins has a Mr. next to his name on the career card. He’s officially an amateur, but he’s just as much an amateur as Anthony Joshua was in the 2012 Olympics and unleashed another withering uppercut for the pros here.
Watch Sharjah win the Matheson Hurdle
Mullins made the case that his victory in 16th Grade 1 had little to do with him, arguing, “It’s so simple. It’s easy to ride it like I do when you know the foot twist it has.”
Maybe so, but you still need to keep your nerves. You still need to contain your emotion until the last possible moment. It’s fine to be dealt a pair of aces, but they’re useless if you smile when you get them. This particular pot was pocketed thanks to patience.
Patrick McCann
“title =” Hat-trick heroes: Sharjah and Patrick Mullins team up for a third victory at the Grade 1 Matheson Hurdle at Leopardstown “class =” js-imageLoader “data-at-xn =” https: // www .rp-assets .com / images / news / 2020/12/29/86676-medium.jpeg “data-br-n =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/12/ 29 / 86676- medium.jpeg “data-br-m =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/12/29/86676-large.jpeg “data-br-w =” https: // www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/12/29/86676-large.jpeg “data-br-xw =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news / 2020/12 /29/86676-large.jpeg “onclick =” return false; “>
Few horses in training travel as easily through their careers as Sharjah, and when Mark Walsh began asking Saint Roi what he was made of, Mullins was still sitting motionless. Jack Kennedy was enduring a nightmare passage through the interior of Abacadabras, so Aspire Tower was left to throw the glove.
The four-year-old showed a level of maturity far beyond his years, but Sharjah’s older legs soon had their measure and he ran clear for a two-length victory. If anything, it was worth more.
This was in the bag from the start of the home fastball and Sharjah is now 8-1 (of 16) with Paddy Power to go one better at Champion Hurdle in March. Saint Roi is out 10-1 (of 9-2), while Abacadabras is 16-1 (of 5). Aspire Tower was cut to 10-1 (of 16).
“In his day he’s as good as any of them,” Mullins said, before adding, “Dave Porter, who’s taking care of him, was making him jog this morning and said he was like Jackie Chan. Couldn’t have been in better shape. He’s like Santa, he shows off here every year at Christmas and he always seems to deliver.
“My plan was to track Saint Roi because I thought he had a lot of speed. I knew if they slowed down, I had a lot of speed too. Turning, I was thinking, ‘We won’t make it to Aspire Tower,’ so I had to do it. shortly before I wanted.
“He has a day off, and perhaps that is why he sometimes forgets, because he is not very consistent. But he is a horse.”
Of course. It was a record eighth victory at Matheson Hurdle for Willie Mullins, who later admitted that the ease with which Sharjah crushed Saint Roi was a surprise.
The coach said: “I thought Saint Roi would finish closer, but Mark [Walsh] he just said that he ran too early and would have liked to sit longer. “
He added: “Sharjah is a horse and he likes this track. Patrick loves to ride it and the horse responds to him. It can be very difficult to ride a horse like that, the way he rides it, but he has great confidence in it.
Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
“title =” Willie Mullins: “Sharjah is a horse” “class =” js-imageLoader “data-at-xn =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/04/15/ 77830-medium.jpeg “data-br-n =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/04/15/77830-medium.jpeg “data-br-m =” https: //www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/04/15/77830-large.jpeg “data-br-w =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020 /04/15/77830-large.jpeg “data-br-xw =” https://www.rp-assets.com/images/news/2020/04/15/77830-large.jpeg “onclick =” return false; “>
“For a boy of his size and weight, he has a great commitment. He does a lot of other tasks around the house, as an assistant coach in the garden. He could take my job shortly!”
He might as well take mine as he came to the press room to write his column for the Irish Independent shortly after winning the final grade 1 of the week at Leopardstown. It was a sixth for the stable in four days.
Abacadabras, who moved to fifth place after being caught on the way home, was found to have mucus in his windpipe.
This day belonged to the current star of the Irish fence, not potential future ones. Sharjah was in the song again, and when she’s like this in Leopardstown, there’s no sweeter tune.
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