Chacun Pour Soi and Paul Townend © Photo Healy Racing
Chacun Pour Soi lit up Leopardstown with an 'electric' performance in the Ladbrokes Dublin Chase, leading home a one-two for Willie Mullins in the Grade One contest.
The two-mile-one contest was run at a searching pace as Min took over from front-runner Ornua early in the back straight.
Chacun Pour Soi joined his stable-mate over the third last and Paul Townend let the 6/5 favourite jump on at the penultimate fence.
Having kicked a few lengths clear turning for home Townend had to get to work on his mount going to the last but he pulled out plenty on the run-in to record a three-and-three-quarter length win.
The pair pulled 24 lengths clear of Ornua with the only other finisher Castlegrace Paddy
“He was electric jumping. Jumping those fences down the back he was so slick and so fast. He was getting a length or a length-and-a-half at every fence without any effort,” said Mullins.
“Paul said he just arrived up beside Min at the third last and he didn't want to hang around so just kept going.
“He idled, which is a good sign I think. It just shows how much he improved since Christmas.
“All that worked out and he was here today in top form. It's a nice prize to win.
“Min was the horse to beat in the race. It was a tough choice for Paul to make, looking at the race afterwards you'd say maybe it wasn't.
“To me Min was the one to beat but he didn't get things his own way with Ornua up there. If Ornua hadn't been there it would have been a much closer contest I think.
“Chacun Pour Soi looks the horse of the future and I think that's why Paul made the decision, he thought this was the horse that was coming up.
“The first day I brought him up here for Cheltenham trials day last year I let him go around with a few of ours.
“I said to Danny, who rode him then, to follow around but after two fences he was in front and led all the Cheltenham horses.
“It was absolutely eye-opening. Once every two or three years you get a horse coming up the gallop that shows you something that he shouldn't be able to do and that's what he did that day.
“First day here over fences he had handicap chasers and Grade One horses behind him and he was a novice. I said 'wow we could have something here' and he's turned out that way.
On the Champion Chase:- “I'm happy to come here and win this chase and we'll let the future look after itself.”
“Min might look more a Ryanair horse now. We'll have a look and see what's in both races.
“He's still a very competitive two-miler. We might elect to ride him a little different as we got our tactics completely wrong last year.
“There is no shame in finishing second or third if Chacun Pour Soi can do that and it's to have a reserve like Min in the line-up too.
“I'm not going to just jump straight over to the Ryanair for Min as I want to see what we have going for both race.”
On English contender Defi Du Seuil he added:- “He does things really nicely. He should probably go to the Ryanair!”
Townend added:- “There was no hiding place and we went a proper gallop. He jumped like a buck every step of the way and put himself right at the last.
“I was hoping for something like that and thankfully he produced it. Min has run a great race as well and is a good yardstick.
“I felt this horse was the two-miler and Min two and a half coming into the race today. Min set the standard and I was hoping this lad could improve past him.
“He’s brave and jumps great. Whether he’s good enough to win a Champion Chase I don’t know but he’ll be there to have a go.
“It’s safe ground and they have done as good a job as they can with it. This wind is drying it out.”
(Additional reporting by Alan Magee)
