Paul Townend anticipating successful return for ‘talented’ Impaire Et Passe

By Kieran McHugh

Former Cheltenham Festival winner Impaire Et Passe will return after a nine-month absence, as Willie Mullins’ charge looks to win on his seasonal reappearance at Gowran Park.

Betway ambassador Paul Townend is looking forward to reuniting with the former Turners Novices’ Hurdle victor, as he takes four rides on Saturday.

“He’s a very talented individual that’s been very good to me over the years,” said Townend.

Simon Munir and Isaac Souede’s eight-year-old has been absent since being brought down at the Punchestown Festival.

Townend is glad to see him back and hopes he can return with a victory, saying: “It will be great to see him back on the track this weekend, and this looks the ideal opportunity for him.

“He seems in good order at home, and this is a nice trip and a nice track to start him off at.

“I think he’s straight enough to do himself justice and start his season with a win.”

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Storm Heart to blow away his rivals?

Storm Heart returned from a long absence with an impressive victory in December and he bids to secure a first graded success.

Townend is interested to see how he gets on, saying: “I always thought he’d be an improver, but he has just had a few little niggling problems that have meant we haven’t seen him on the track as much as we’d have liked.

“He did win nicely the last day, though, at Limerick on heavy ground over two and a half miles, and I’m not concerned about the step back in trip for him here to be truthful, as he’s always shown plenty of speed. 

“This looks a good race that should throw up plenty of winners.”

Madness kicks off crazy day

Townend takes the ride on Madness d’Elle in the opening race at Gowran Park and the champion jockey is excited to climb aboard.

“We were pretty happy with how he went on his first run for us when second to a nice horse of Donnacha O’Brien’s at Punchestown last month, and I’d say he’ll improve plenty with that run under his belt,” said Townend.

He continued: “It’s been well documented all year that a good few of our horses have been taking a run, and the way he shaped the last day would suggest we should see an even better version of Madness d’Elle here.”

Arise King Alexander

Towend’s final ride of the day is aboard King Alexander and he is pretty confident that he will end the day on a high.

“I’d be very disappointed if King Alexander can’t make it third time lucky over fences here,” said Townend.

He explained: “He looks very solid here with that chasing experience under his belt.

“Although the majority of his better form over hurdles was on top of the ground, his runs on testing ground of late have shown he’s extremely versatile with regards to underfoot conditions, and that will no doubt stand him in good stead this weekend.”

Cheltenham chatter

Aside from Townend’s rides at Gowran Park this weekend, he has offered his opinion on Lulamba’s success in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury, last week.

The Nicky Henderson-trained novice is set to clash with Townend and Mullins’ star novice two-miler Kopek Des Bordes in the Arkle Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Townend is eagerly awaiting the clash, saying: “These are the clashes that you want to be involved in as a jockey.

“He’s [Lulamba] certainly got more chasing experience than we have, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a concern that we are going there with only one run over fences under our belt.

“Hopefully, we’ll have a smooth run between now and next month and can head there with a big chance in one of the opening races of the meeting.”

You can read more about Paul Townend’s thoughts on his four rides at Gowran Park and the clash of the titans in the Arkle in his Betway insider column.

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