Brennan and Cue Card are the aces in the pack

IT was a bolt out of the blue. Just as the new National Hunt season across channel was picking up in tempo, Paddy Brennan was released from his role as stable hockey to Tom George in mid-September.

The Ardrahan native hadn’t seen the split coming and it was hardly a great omen for the campaign ahead. A little more than two months later, however, Brennan is dominating the racing headlines for all the right reasons.

On Wednesday of last week, the 35-year-old joined an exclusive club when becoming only the 23rd jockey in Great Britain and Ireland to reach 1,000 winners after steering Colin’s Sister to victory in a mares’ novices hurdle at Warwick.

Brennan was naturally thrilled to reach such a coveted milestone, but his mind was still preoccupied with what was about to unfold in the prestigious Grade One Betfair Chase at Haydock three days later.

He was going to be reunited with the horse which had helped to seriously revive his racing career the previous season. Cue Card and Brennan had cleaned up all around them, including nailing the ill-fated Vautour on the line in the 2015 King George at Kempton.

The only real blemish on the partnership’s record was a shuddering fall at the third last fence in the Cheltenham Gold Cup when Cue Card was still travelling ominously well. After then regaining the winning thread in the Betfred Bowl at Aintree, the exertions of a long season had taken its toll by the time of a subsequent unsuccessful trek to the Punchestown festival in late April.

After parting ways with George, the Galway jockey’s mood wouldn’t have been helped when Cue Card failed to repeat last year’s success in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby at the end of October. Following the instructions of trainer Colin Tizzard, Brennan sent the popular 10-year-old to the front a long ran from home, only to be collared by race winner Irish Cavalier and Menorah in the home straight.

Connections attached no blame to Brennan but he would have taken little consolation from Tizzard’s defence of him or that the horse was carrying a Grade One penalty or that the ground at Wetherby was on the quick side. He took the defeat to heart as he has a special affection for Cue Card.

Full coverage in this week’s Connacht Tribune.