As soon as the season begins, all eyes are on the top horse in the industry. Horse racing fans always eagerly anticipate the top horse to repeat its impressive performance from last season. Many exciting opener races have been held thus far in the 2024 season. But Marine Nationale, trained by Barry Connell, had a disastrous 2024 season debut.

Many people flocked to Leopardstown to see the performance of the six-run winning streak horse. The audience, however, was unprepared for Marine Nationale to have its worst races ever. Trainer Barry Connell discussed the horse’s future in an interview given after the race, focusing on the horse’s performance in the most recent event.

Not something any fan of Marine Nationale expected

The seven-year-old equine has raced at Leopardstown before. The same racetrack also hosted the season finale of Marine Nationale in 2023. This horse breezed past every hurdle it saw and even maintained a respectable pace in the final stretch to claim victory. It was a horse to watch for the 2024 season after its sixth straight victory. But in its most recent race, The Irish Arkle, the horse lost strength with each hurdle and finished 5th, preventing it from making a strong start in 2024.

Following yesterday’s loss, the trainer reports to Irish Racing that the horse “seems fine” this morning. But Connell won’t have the “full clinical picture” of Marine Nationale until the “tests” are over. The setback worried the trainer, as the horse had such an exceptional 2023 season that also came with a great victory in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. Regarding the horse’s future, Connell elaborated by adding, “He’s sound anyway and seems to come out of the race OK, so we’re still a little bit in the dark.” Given that the horse was in good condition before coming to Leopardstown for the race, the trainer’s reluctance seems reasonable.

A playful horse before the disastrous season opener

A few days ago, a post about Conor O’Hehir meeting trainer Barry Connell on X went viral. While in Nurney, Connell had his horse Marine Nationale entered in the Irish Arkle, a fact that was subsequently revealed to O’Hehir. The horse also was having a great time at the facility, as seen in the viral video. The video begins by capturing the horse’s playful nature.

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Marine Nationale was whirling about in a playful manner, clearly enjoying itself in the dirt. Its rapid transition to standing on all fours from that position further demonstrated the horse’s tremendous foot power. To top it all off, the majestic horse also takes the time to clean off the dirt it racked in from the field. This was the same horse whose trainer was worried when it failed to win its first race of the 2024 season. The worriedness is understandable, as the Cheltenham Festival is coming up in a matter of weeks, and he doesn’t want to take any chances before the big event.

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