Beef or Salmon, Douvan and Un De Sceaux used the Hilly Way Chase as springboard to racing glory The Hilly Way Chase at Cork is a Grade 2 contest typically run in late November/early December and it has proved a springboard for some of Ireland's best two-mile chasers to make their seasonal reappearances. Willie Mullins has won the Hilly Way an incredible 16 times since 2007, including in 11 of the last 12 years as stars like Douvan, Un De Sceaux, Chacun Pour Soi, Energumene and El Fabiolo have graced the Mallow venue. Here we are taking a look back at three of the finest winners of the Hilly Way Chase, a contest that was first run in 2001. Beef or Salmon Beef or Salmon was one of the first legendary Irish jumps horses of the 2000s. The Michael Hourigan-trained stalwart ran 51 times under Rules, winning 19 of those starts with a further 15 placings. He ended his career with 10 successes at Grade 1 level and was adept over a variety of trips, winning the Lexus Chase (now Savills) at Leopardstown a record three times, three Irish Gold Cups, two Champions Chases at Down Royal, a John Durkan at Punchestown and — on two occasions — the Hilly Way at Cork. He had won a bumper at Cork in January 2002 and had four starts over hurdles afterwards before going chasing later that same year. He won the Grade 2 Clonmel Oil Chase on his first run over fences and was clearly destined for big things in this code. Timmy Murphy partnered him to glory in the Hilly Way as he went 2-2 over fences, making light of the drop back to 2m. Successive Leopardstown Grade 1 wins followed over 3m but he took an early fall in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham in 2003. He won the Hilly Way again later in 2003 under Murphy, easily repelling three rivals, every one of his 19 career wins arrived on the island of Ireland. He thrice ran in the Betfair Chase at Haydock, with figures of 223 as Kauto Star won two of those renewals, and ran in five Cheltenham Gold Cups, his best result when fourth as Best Mate won in 2004. Douvan The Supreme Novices' winner at Cheltenham in 2015 and unbeaten in his first 13 stars over jumps, the Willie Mullins-trained Douvan was, at a time, perceived as being on his way to becoming an all-time great for owner Rich Ricci. He won six times as a novice over fences, including the Arkle at Cheltenham when as short as 1/4fav in the betting, and he was odds-on for all bar one of these first 13 wins. In the 2016 Hilly Way at Cork he justified 1/6 odds with a superb round of front-running under Paul Townend but three runs later he underperformed in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, finishing seventh as Special Tiara scored, with post-race tests revealing a stress fracture to his pelvis. A year passed before he was spotted again and he appeared well on course to win the two-mile Championship in the Cotswolds under Patrick Mullins as he moved strongly going to the fourth last when he hit the deck as Altior went on to win. Setbacks had taken a toll and Douvan would run just twice more, winning the Clonmel Oil Chase in November 2019 in his swansong. He ran only 17 times, winning 14, and it's almost certain that his potential was unfulfilled to a degree. Un De Sceaux Few winners of the Hilly Way were cheered as loudly as Un De Sceaux in 2017 with David Mullins on board for his uncle, Willie. A no-nonsense front-runner, Un De Sceaux wore his heart on his chest throughout a racing career that yielded 20 wins in 31 starts over jumps. No less than 10 of his 13 wins as a chaser came at Grade 1 level, including an Arkle and a Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, three Clarence House Chase wins and two Punchestown Champion Chases. His win at Cork, where he led his rivals a merry dance and eased home by 25-lengths, may 'only' have been a Grade 2, but it came in the home county of his owner, the late Eddie O'Connell, and that made the success so sweet. The O'Connell family were easily recognisable at the races through their blue and orange scarves in support of Un De Sceaux.
