Sean Flanagan is set to once again partner champion chaser Marine Nationale when he lines up at the Dublin Racing Festival this weekend, aiming to emulate the heroics of his Prestbury Park triumph back in March.
When asked on the latest episode of Unbridled whether his previous highs and lows of a long career flashed through his mind after crossing the line that day in Gloucestershire, Flanagan replied: "They didn't really flash into my brain but I'm very mentally aware of the hardship I've put everyone around me - and myself - through to be where I am today."
The result was particularly poignant in the wake of the tragedy that struck Marine Nationale's rider Michael O'Sullivan, who passed away after a fall at Thurles a month previously.
Reflecting, Flanagan said: "I was riding the horse before the incident with Michael, but even after that there's still a lot of Michael attached to the horse. I fell at the same fence on the day [at Thurles] and was very involved - that brought a lot of emotion to the whole day."
Lining up alongside stars such as Jonbon and previous winner Captain Guinness at Cheltenham just weeks later, Marine Nationale did O'Sullivan proud - storming up the hill to take Grade 1 glory by a margin of eighteen lengths
Remembering the moments that followed, Flanagan recalled: "I was walking around the top of the chute thinking 'Jesus it's all paid off.' It's amazing all it takes is one winner to think that, but that's Cheltenham isn't it?"
When asked about the nuances surrounding Connell's star, the 37-year-old explained: "I've ridden a few but not many proper two mile hurdlers. A few of them don't actually feel like they jump. They rock down, bend their knee, don't make any shape and they're gone. This lad feels similar over a fence.
"Forget about his mistake at Leopardstown, his mistakes that he makes are jumping too clean for a two mile chaser. He generally does it in his first run or two of the season and he might lose a minimal amount of ground - but that's only early on in play.
"If I was to blindfold somebody and put them up on Marine Nationale sending them over two fences, they might not know when he's left the ground - he's that slick in the air."
The Boherbaun Stables team have their eyes on writing the wrongs of Marine Nationale's last trip to Leopardstown, when an error at the second obstacle saw him beaten by half a length in the Paddy's Rewards Club Chase on December 27.
Looking back on the incident which nearly saw him part company with the horse, Flanagan said: "That was a mistake. I watched the recording of it the next day to see what happened and he left the ground a stride before the wing and he's literally landed just above whether the belly meets the actual birch.
He just pitched me forward, he nearly hit the ground, stopped and I'm nearly over his tail. If Keith [Donoghue, aboard Only By Night] wasn't there I could have ended up in the ambulance because I was pulling off one reign to not fall off him. Pat Healy has a picture of him and he's more or less in the fence, so he made a mistake.
Looking forward, optimism appears to be rising at the stable in the run-up to the Grade 1 Dublin Chase over two miles on Sunday.
Flanagan said: "I never ride him. Gareth Cotter rides him every day and he's in fantastic form. I spoke to Barry last night and he's delighted with him - they're more than happy. I don't think ground is going to be an issue. He won on soft ground in the Royal Bond and when he won the Supreme it was soft-ish ground as well. Not that he's run off his feet but Solness around Leopardstown - he's hard to keep onto. The slow ground might just take the sting out of him.
Trainer and owner Barry Connell has been particularly bullish about his horse, especially in the wake of the Clarence House at Ascot which saw Jonbon retain his crown after Il Etait Temps fell. He told the media: "I can't see any of those horses having a chance in the Champion Chase. I couldn't see it before the race, and I can't see it afterwards. I think if we jump a clear round, we win."
When quizzed about Connell's confidence in the press, Flanagan said: "It's a very different situation because Barry is the trainer and the owner. The problem you can arrive at sometimes is a trainer might say something to you, and that's fine because you're riding for the trainer but you're also riding for the owner. If the trainer and owner don't agree on what you've been asked to do or what you've done, that's when you come into the firing line.
"If the trainer and owner are 100 per cent on the same page because they're the same person, it narrows the situation down. He's very good to ride for because he lets me ride him the way I think he needs to be ridden, but we're on the same page. I think it makes it a bit easier. He can go and say what he wants to say, it won't affect my judgement on the way I want to ride the horse. If he's good enough he'll win and if he's not, he won't."
Flanagan identified Solness as the chief threat once again for Sunday's Dublin Chase, stating: "Solness has beaten him three times. Marine Nationale is a different horse in Cheltenham. While Solness might beat him at Leopardstown, I don't think he'll beat him at Cheltenham."
William Munny has not been seen since he chased home Kopek Des Bordes in last year's Michael O'Sullivan Supreme Novices' Hurdle, with his Christmas comeback scuppered by a pulled muscle in his hindquarters.
There are positive signs from the camp however, with Flanagan revealing: "He's back up and doing plenty of walking. I don't think he's far away from having the saddle on his back soon. The speak is hopefully Punchestown but he's one of those horses who I don't think it will do any harm to have this time.
He's just a big old, raw horse with an endless amount of ability. I was really, really looking forward to him this year. The division is open and he could have been a big contender."
The yard are also optimistic about their seven-year-old hurdler Eachtotheirown, with the jockey saying: "He's a gorgeous horse. We were very lucky he ran below par in the Royal Bond and got a nice mark off the back of it. He went and won really well and got 14lbs for that. There's talk of a Supreme entry, which would be no harm to anyone and he could run a nice race. He's definitely a big chaser in the making."
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