Prince of Scars springs shock as Arctic Fire extinguished

The progressive Prince Of Scars caused an upset when landing the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown yesterday under a beautifully judged ride from Davy Russell.

Snow Falcon set off at a strong pace in the three-mile race but the complexion changed when he crashed out at the fourth hurdle. That left the well-backed Alpha Des Obeaux in front, likely sooner than ideal, but he held that position until Martello Tower moved to challenge leaving the backstraight for the final time.

The front two went at it hard from that point and, as it had become apparent favourite Arctic Fire was not going to play a significant part, it was left to the Gordon Elliott-trained Prince Of Scars to mount a telling challenge.