Cheltenham Gold Cup success for McManus

TONY McCoy gave Jonjo O’Neill’s Synchronised a brilliant ride to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup at Prestbury Park last Friday, handing leading Irish owner JP McManus a first-ever success in the blue riband of steeple chasing in the process.
A good winner of the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown last Christmas, Synchronised was under a drive from McCoy from an early stage and it looked for a long way as if the pair were not going to feature.
However, the never-say-die spirit of 16-time champion McCoy was to prove otherwise and as long-time leader, 50/1 outsider The Giant Bolster rose to the final fence ahead of 7/4 favourite Long Run, McCoy was bearing down on them on the wide outside.
Once safely over, Synchronised, who is an out-and-out stayer, was always going to finish strongly up the final hill and he did just that to beat the rank outsider by two lengths, with the flattering Long Run back in third.
2011 winner Long Run was disappointing to say the least and while he seemed to travel ok through the race for Sam Waley-Cohen, he didn’t find a lot in the closing stages and was beaten fair and square.
The big talking point of the race was the display of Kauto Star. Popped out near the front in the early stages by Ruby Walsh, he jumped the first five or six fences fine but seemed to drop back through the field as the first circuit unfolded, before being pulled up by Walsh before the ninth fence.
Kauto Star’s owner, Clive Smith, hinted strongly in his post-race musings he would be retired but speaking since, Paul Nicholls has stated no decision will be made on the 12-year-old’s future until later in the year.
In any case, the day belonged to Jonjo O’Neill and his McManus-owned Jackdaw’s Castle operation. The Cork man won this race as a jockey aboard Alverton in 1979 and this year’s success will have given the former champion rider great satisfaction.
While Paul Nicholls will be disappointed with Kauto Star, the display of his 11/1 chance Rock on Ruby in winning the Champion Hurdle will have pleased the Ditcheat handler.
Reigning champion Hurricane Fly was all the rage to retain his crown but the 4/6 favourite seemed flat-footed in the closing stages and the pace-setting Overturn and Noel Fehilly-ridden Rock on Ruby fought it out up front.
In the end, it was Rock on Ruby who prevailed when surging up the final hill to beat Donald McCain’s Overturn by three and three-quarter lengths. Hurricane Fly was third a further two lengths back.

History-making Henderson dominates

Top English trainer Nicky Henderson dominated last week’s Cheltenham Festival when saddling seven winners over the four days at the Prestbury Park meeting.
In tip-top form going into the meeting, Henderson and his stable jockey, Barry Geraghty, wasted little time in getting off the mark when striking with the brilliant Sprinter Sacre in the opening day’s Grade 1 Arkle Chase.
Sent off 8/11 favourite, Sprinter Sacre set sail for home three out after his main rival Al Ferof had blundered away his chance with a bad mistake a fence earlier and from that point, there was only going to be one winner as the market leader sauntered clear to beat Cue Card by seven lengths.
The winner was hugely impressive, with Geraghty remarking, “I have never before schooled a horse around to win a championship race at the Cheltenham Festival and that’s all it felt like, a schooling session.”
Things were to get even better for the all-conquering Henderson/Geraghty camp when they combined the following afternoon to land the Queen Mother Champion Chase with Finian’s Rainbow.
The finish of this important Grade 1 was nothing short of farcical. Hot favourite, Sizing Europe, and Finian’s Rainbow had to take evasive action as the final fence was omitted, due to the earlier fall of the Richard Johnson-ridden Wishfull Thinking with it looking for a while as if Andrew Lynch on Sizing Europe and the winner were in fact going to jump the last.
Lynch, having eventually realised what was happening, took his mount outside the wing, bringing the Geragty-ridden Finian’s Rainbow with him with the pair settling down to scrap it out up on the stiff uphill run-in.
At the line, Finian’s Rainbow had a length to spare over Sizing Europe, whose chance wasn’t helped by the exclusion of the final fence.
Henderson went into the meeting having saddled 39 festival winners – one short of Fulke Walwyn’s record of 40 wins – and his haul, which included the impressive success of ex-point-to-point Simonsig in the Neptune Investment Novices Hurdle, Bob’s Worth in the RSA Chase and Riverside Theatre in the Ryanair put him well clear as the festival’s leading trainer. Geraghty, with five wins, easily claimed the meeting’s leading rider award.
Carlow trainer Willie Mullins also enjoyed a good meeting with his perennial mare Quevega scoring for the fourth year in-a-row under Ruby Walsh in Tuesday’s OLBG mares’ hurdle.
Quakerstown Point-to-Point winner, Champagne Fever, struck for Mullins and his son, Patrick, when taking Wednesday’s Champion Bumper at generous odds of 16/1, while Sir Des Champs looked a future champion for the Closutton handler when carrying Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House colours to success in the hands of Davy Russell in Thursday’s Jewson Novices’ Chase.
No round-up of this year’s Cheltenham Festival would be complete without mentioning Big Buck’s, who equalled Sir Ken’s record of 16 straight wins over hurdles when victorious in Thursday’s World Hurdle.
A real tank of a horse, Big Buck’s faced his stiffest test yet but in the manner of a real battler, Paul Nicholls’ star  stuck his neck out in do-or-die fashion for Ruby Walsh when drawing clear from the final flight to beat Colm Murphy’s mare Voler Le Vedette by two lengths.
As always at the festival, there is a special story to relate and this year’s ‘fairytale’ surely relates to Hunt Ball, who ran out a convincing winner of the finale on Tuesday, the Pulteney Land Investments Novices’ Chase.
Trained by rookie handler Kieran Burke and ridden by Nick Scholfield, Hunt Ball was racing here on a mark of 142, 73lbs higher than when starting his winning sequence of at Folkestone back in November.
Shouldered with a top weight of 12 stone, the well-backed 13/2 favourite laughed at the opposition as the seven-year-old by Winged Love shot clear to beat White Star Line by eight lengths for his dairy farmer owner Anthony Knott.  

Close but no cigar for local raiders

It was a case of so near but yet so far for A New Story, as Michael Hourigan’s  remarkable veteran ran the race of his life before succumbing by a head to the six years younger Balthazar King in Cheltenham’s Glenfarclas Cross-Country Chase on Tuesday of last week.
Now 14-years-old, A New Story looked a picture in the parade ring before the race and he duly lived up to his trainer’s optimism when failing to supplement his 2010 success in this race, yet turning in a stellar performance.
Adrian Heskin rode a peach of a race on the 20/1 priced son of Fourstars Allstar with the pair stalking Balthazar King as the leader jumped the final fence.
Halfway up the run-in, it looked as if Heskin was going to get the better of Richard Johnson on the well-backed Balthazar King (10/1 to 11/2), but the winner was not for passing as he dug deep to hold A New Story’s heroic challenge by a head.
This was a gallant effort by A New Story, who really loves Cheltenham and his Ennis owners, Christy Guerin and Sean Moran, will be glad to hear that Hourigan is already looking forward to his charge returning to compete at the 2013 festival.
Spancilhill trainer Noel Glynn had to endure the heartbreak of seeing his Becauseicouldntsee fill the runner-up berth for the second time at the festival, when his 9/1 shot was outgunned close to home by Sunnyhillboy in Thursday’s Kim Muir Chase.
With Robbie McNamara stepping in for Nina Carberry (who was claimed to ride Gigginstown runner Start Me Up), Becauseicouldntsee gave an exhibition of jumping up front in this three-mile, one-furlong test only to be passed on the run-in by the Alan Berry-ridden winner, who proved that bit superior when forging clear to score by four and a half lengths.
The Grand National at Aintree will be Becauseicouldntsee’s next port of call and with just 10-3 on his back and the four and a half-mile trip right into his barrow, Glynn will be hoping for another bold showing.
Another horse with Clare connections to do well at the meeting was Teaforthree, who landed Wednesday’s opening National Hunt Chase under a dashing ride from John Thomas McNamara.
Trained in Wales by Rebecca Curtis and her partner Darragh, Ennis native Gearóid Costello, 5/1 favourite Teaforthree was giving Curtis her first festival winner, also proving that Costello has a good eye for a bargain as he purchased the former Dromahane point-to-point winner for just €20,000 at the 2010 Doncaster May Sales.
The Costello clan have a long and successful association with horses and Gearóid’s uncle, John of Ballyalla Stud just outside Ennis, was involved in the purchase of cross-country chase winner Balthazar King. He bought the son of King’s Theatre as a foal at Tattersalls sales before selling him on prior to him beginning his racing career.
While unplaced in the RSA Chase, Lambro still ran a respectable race for his part-owner Ennis’ Michael Woods. David Casey was on board Willie Mullins’ 25/1 shot, who finished sixth behind impressive winner Bob’s Worth.