Ed Byrne's classic study of chaser Pendil in full flight

I don’t know if you ever saw the famous Ed Byrne picture of Pendil jumping a fence, Fred Winter’s great chaser being revealed at the top of his flawless arc, writes Tony Stafford. It was a thing of rare beauty.

Pendil won two King George’s and was pipped on the line in the Gold Cup by The Dikler but avenged that defeat under top-weight in the Massey-Ferguson Gold Cup, also at Cheltenham. He had run a few times over fences before Ed’s classical study.

At Thurles racecourse on Thursday, a nine-year-old having his first race over fences, approached his first 13 fences taken in battle and was perfection over 12 of them. The exception, if you want to be pedantic, came at the one in front of the stands first time around when he gave himself a small extra step before again soaring easily across and to the other side

You occasionally see mention in these parts of the “clockwork horse!” and for some reason the latest before this to be lumbered with that appendage escapes me. Here instead goes, Klassical Dream, a seven-time Grade 1 hurdle winner as well as multiple placed at that level.

I owe it to Mark Smith, advisor to Joanne Coleman, for some of the insight to Klassical Dream’s story. Joanne is the widow of the man who struck the private deal for the then four-year-old after he had run seven times in France for just one win. Mark was a long-standing friend of John Coleman’s and was mortified, as was the family and friends, when John was struck down by illness before he could see Klassical Dream on the racecourse.

John would have been thrilled from day one. The tally since under Willie Mullins has been nine wins (seven at Grade 1) from 17, despite two long breaks – one of almost 18 months and another of nine. Mark tells me it was intended that Klassical Dream would be going chasing until Mullins made a late change of plan, pitching him into the Grade 1 Stayers Hurdle at Punchestown in May 2021 after the first of those breaks.

Despite Mullins’ suggesting he would be happy with a run in the first six, KD, with trainer’s son Patrick on board, was backed down from 25/1 to 5/1 on the day and sauntered to victory. This was replicated with rather less largesse from the bookmakers in each of the next two campaigns, this year avenging previous a defeat at Cheltenham by Flooring Porter.

Those hurdling exploits – to which you can add places in second and third in France’s big summer championship stayers’ hurdle race the past two years, not to mention the Supreme at Cheltenham in his first Mullins season – equated to a rating of 160.

Running to anything like that would mean he would make mincemeat of the opposition lined up against him at Thurles. He did, but with a mixture of elegance and unleashed power, the latter quality hinted at for a few strides as Paul Townend allowed him a tiny encouragement after the final fence, which he had measured immaculately this time around.

Mark says he’s had a small bet at 33/1 (it’s almost impossible to get any bet on at all nowadays, he says) for next year’s Brown Advisory three-mile novice chase at The Festival, but fears that Mullins has at least a couple that might at this stage take precedence, most obviously Saturday's easy debut chase winner Gaelic Warrior at Punchestown.

Led over the first three fences by a pliant stablemate, Paul Townend couldn’t restrain Gaelic Warrior any longer and the fast-improving winner of the big three-mile novice hurdle at the same course in the spring, sauntered into a 30-length advantage after halfway before coasting in 15 lengths clear of a fair tool in Inothewayurthinkin. It could easily have been doubled and 2m3f was hardly the limit of his stamina. He jumped well enough, but effective rather than startling would be my uneducated view. Not a parabola in sight!

Klassical Dream might have to defer to the National Hunt Chase over 3m6f. “It would be lovely and at the same time worrying to watch him bowling along at the front of a big field for that far and over 23 fences. Not that having Patrick on board will be a handicap, as we know from previous experience!” he said.

Two more notable winners on the same card were Mullins’ State Man, winning the Morgiana Hurdle by six lengths at 1/6 to confirm his status as the number one contender to Constitution Hill’s probable retention of his Champion Hurdle crown, but more interest with the future in mind came in the opening juvenile hurdle.

Here, debutant Mighty Bandit, unraced on the flat and a son of top Aidan O’Brien stayer Order Of St George, ran right away from a field including three Joseph O’Brien candidates. Leading shortly before the last, he won by just under ten lengths with Jack Kennedy having to do very little to prevent an even wider-margin success.

Mighty Bandit must be an early contender and challenger to whatever Mr Mullins and Howard Kirk can unearth (or presumably already have) from France. The sire, one of Coolmore’s National Hunt band, had only a single runner before Saturday, Gore Point, slightly unlucky when 2^nd on debut for Anthony Honeyball in a bumper at Ludlow. Order Of St George’s services are sure to be sought from now on.

Saturday also featured a mulish display from Shishkin, 8/13 for his comeback run, but immobile at the start of his valuable race at Ascot, won almost by default by Paul Nicholls’ Pic D’Orhy.

The weekend continued yesterday with a couple of UK jumps cards and one more fixture in Ireland, but the crowning glory was yesterday’s crushing victory of Equinox, the 100/30 on favourite for the Japan Cup at Tokyo racecourse. He did get beaten twice as a 3yo, but his seven wins from nine starts have amassed prizemoney of more than £14 million. The highest-rated horse in the world, nothing we saw here will have dented either his status or reputation.

Second-favourite at 27/10, so almost to the exclusion of anything else in the 18-runner field, was the filly Liberty Island. Before yesterday the winner of this year’s Japan fillies’ triple Crown had suffered only one defeat in her career, as a juvenile, but here she was no match for the favourite, although comfortably best of the rest.

The race is simply described. Confirmed front-runner Panthalassa, repeating the tactics that had won him the Saudi Cup early in the year, defeating the smart Bob Baffert horse Country Grammer, set up a massive lead, almost in Saturday’s Gaelic Warrior dimension.

He was still several lengths ahead coming to the home turn but, approaching the final furlong, he was spent and Equinox and Christophe Lemaire went by him, stretching easily to the line four lengths clear with Liberty Island in his wake. To indicate the level of the race, third-home Stars On Earth had never been out of the first three in her career to date and won last year’s Japanese Oaks. Her rider, William Buick, collected his share of 800k for his trouble.

Last year’s winner, Vela Azul, a 7/2 shot then under Ryan Moore, was seventh this time under substitute Hollie Doyle and therefore out of the prizes. His win last year took almost two seconds longer to achieve than yesterday’s race in which he started 99/1!

Speculation is that if Equinox is to race again before his highly-lucrative future career as a stallion it is unlikely to involve another overseas trip, tempting though some of the massive winter prizes on offer nowadays might seem. I wonder what mares Coolmore might have lined up for him when he does go to the breeding shed?

- TS