Ile Atlantique set to be seen over longer trips in the future

A step up in trip appears on the cards for Ile Atlantique, as conditions could dictate where he is next seen.

Owned by Brighton & Hove Albion chief Tony Bloom and trained by Willie Mullins, the seven-year-old made an excellent start to his chasing career, impressing with cut in the ground at both Wexford on chasing debut and when dropped to the minimum trip to win a Naas Grade Two.

Kept at that distance for a clash with Triumph hurdle hero and stablemate Majborough at the Dublin Racing Festival, he failed to sparkle in quicker conditions, trailing home fifth of six and some 30 lengths adrift of the winner.

After electing to skip the Cheltenham Festival, Ile Atlantique is now enjoying a quiet time as his team revert to the drawing board, with both extra yardage and suitable underfoot conditions deemed imperative for his future outings.

“There’s no doubt he was disappointing at Leopardstown, but it was that poor it was clearly not his true running,” said Sean Graham, Bloom’s racing manager.

“The horse is having a short break and I’d say I would be surprised if we ran him over two miles again and I think we will step him up to two and a half miles, maybe even further.

“The ground at Leopardstown on the chase track was quicker than what it was on the hurdles track that weekend and the ground was against him, but really he just couldn’t go the two-mile gallop that Majborough set.

“He beat Firefox five lengths at Naas with his head in his chest and Firefox has turned the form round remarkably if that was supposed to be a true running.

“Willie did think some of his horses who ran in the deep ground at Naas that weekend then under performed at the Dublin Racing Festival so maybe that weekend just came too quickly for him.

“I think it will be ground dependent where we go next and we would want to go somewhere where it was soft. Whether that is Aintree, Fairyhouse or Punchestown, we will go where we can get the ground and we think that is key to him.”