Chief among them was Hurricane Fly in the Irish Champion Hurdle, whose victory over four rivals resulted in him closing in on Binocular at the head of the market for the Stan James-sponsored Champion Hurdle.
It could be argued that in winning the Irish Champion, Hurricane Fly didn’t tell us anything new. Indeed, he has beaten Solwhit in their last four meetings now, and he will face an altogether sterner test when locking horns with the likes of Binocular, Menorah and Peddlers Cross in the spring.
However, it was hard not to be impressed with the gelding, as he is a slick hurdler who possesses a potent turn of foot and whilst most of his racing has been on easy surfaces, he has shown great verstatility by winning on going ranging from good to firm right through to heavy. He has a fairly quick action and possesses so much natural speed, therefore if the ground is on the fast side of good at the Festival he could be seen in an even better light.
The seven-year-old is now best-price 9/2 (Bet365 and Victor Chandler) for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, which takes place in just 50 days.
Another horse that impressed on the card at Leopardstown was Realt Dubh, who delivered a spirited display to see off Noble Prince in the Arkle Novice Chase, registering his second Grade 1 win over fences in the process.
Last spring when both Realt Dubh and Noble Prince were plying their trade over hurdles, the latter was rated around 13lb superior to Noel Meade’s charge, which serves as an illustration of how much Real Dubh has improved since switched to fences.
The pair were cut for the Cheltenham equivalent, with Realt Dubh now best-price 14/1 (Paddy Power) and Noble Prince best-price 20/1 (888sport) for the Arkle.
Earlier on the card, Day Of A Lifetime's success in the opener saw him earn a best-price quotes of 20/1 (Stan James) for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle.
Willie Mullins' charge, a major disappointment in the Championship Bumper last March, was making his debut over timber in the Frank Conroy Memorial Maiden Hurdle and ran out a smooth winner.
Mullins said: "He blew it at Cheltenham but has always shown a lot at home. He needs to improve his jumping which was not fast enough. We'll try to get another run into him before Cheltenham but it may not be possible to run him again before the Festival."
Realt Dubh holds off Noble Prince in a Leopardstown thriller yesterday
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