WellChild Cheltenham Gold Cup (Grade 1)

IF you are going to break new ground why not do it in style. Henry de Bromhead did just that as he achieved the hitherto never accomplished hat-trick of Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and Gold Cup victories at the same Festival when a resurgent Minella Indo and Jack Kennedy saw off stablemate A Plus Tard in chasing’s holy grail.

For de Bromhead this victory completed a week like no other for the trainer who has turned out his team in incredible shape. Meanwhile for Kennedy this chance spare ride surely erased all the injury heartbreak that he has suffered over the last few seasons. The rider’s calm and laid-back demeanour belies a considerable inner steel which has enabled him to bounce back from one injury setback after another and come back better than ever each time.

Central to the whole Gold Cup story though is the Barry Maloney-owned Minella Indo who was taking his tally at the meeting to two wins from three starts. A winner of the Albert Bartlett in 2019 and then mugged by Champ in last year’s RSA Chase, Minella Indo lined up as perhaps something of a forgotten horse.

A fall at Leopardstown over Christmas was followed by a somewhat underwhelming fourth to Kemboy in last month’s Irish Gold Cup. However, there was more than enough in the past to suggest that this son of Beat Hollow was a legitimate Gold Cup contender and he duly bounced back in the form of his life to lead home the Rachael Blackmore-ridden A Plus Tard with the two-time defending champion Al Boum Photo, in his quest to emulate Arkle, running a race full of credit and honour to finish third.

Drama aplenty

In an interesting and competitive edition of this great race there was drama aplenty from an early stage with one of the chief home hopes, Champ, clouting the first fence and making a series of early mistakes that saw him pulled up before the runners had completed a circuit. An early mistake by that one’s stablemate Santini took its toll and he cried enough with a circuit to go.

All the while Minella Indo looked very comfortable in a forward position as the enthusiastic Frodon cut out the running. Also looking very happy were A Plus Tard and Al Boum Photo who looked to be going really within himself with around five to jump. Over the last mile the field steadily thinned out to leave just the three Irish horses with a chance.

After three out Minella Indo and A Plus Tard pressed on for home and suddenly the defending champion was all out to keep tabs on that pair. Minella Indo was in front at this point and this teak-tough performer with boundless stamina wasn’t going to either relinquish his advantage or allow himself to get mugged.

The 9/1 chance cleared two out and always seemed to be doing enough to hold on. Indeed he could afford to prick his ears coming in to the last in an indication of the reserves he still had to call upon if required. A Plus Tard kept him up to his work but the eight-year-old stuck to his task in splendid style to score by a length and a quarter. Al Boum Photo was a further four and a quarter lengths back while another previous winner, Native River, led the home challenge a further 24 lengths back in fourth.

“I’m still in my hotel on Monday evening and I’m sure I’m going to wake up and find that it’s all still to start,” said an elated de Bromhead as he reflected on this most incredible four days for his yard which reached its zenith with this unprecedented big race hat-trick.

“It’s just unbelievable really and I’m delighted with everyone involved. We have had so much fun with this horse and he just seems a different horse here, a little bit like Put The Kettle On. I don’t know what to say, it’s just brilliant and A Plus Tard ran a cracker. Both jockeys and horses were amazing.”

Rare indeed is the day when Jack Kennedy gets emotional but he was understandably overcome in the aftermath of this triumph. “This is what I’ve dreamt of since I was a child. I’m so grateful to Henry and Mike and Barry Maloney for the opportunity to ride him. I can’t thank them enough and I’ll owe them forever. This is what I live for and I just can’t believe it’s after happening. I was there very soon but I didn’t want to disappoint him. He carried me there and he was pricking his ears but when he heard Rachael’s horse coming he took off again,” declared the winning rider.

Porlock Bay pounces to provide respite for home team

St James’s Palace Festival Challenge Cup Hunters Chase

THERE was some respite for the home team as the Lorcan Williams-ridden Porlock Bay edged out the favourite and Willie Mullins-trained Billaway in the finish of the week.

A useful former France-based performer who has seamlessly transitioned to the British point-to-point scene, Porlock Bay is trained by Will Biddick who is the winningmost point-to-point rider in the U.K. Indeed Biddick, who won the Festival Plate back in 2009, would surely have ridden this gelding had amateur riders been able to compete at this year’s Festival.

In Lorcan Williams though the trainer found a perfect replacement rider and the former produced his mount to tackle the market leader Billaway off the last bend as they pulled clear of the rest. From the second last Porlock Bay (16/1) held a fractional advantage and he maintained this all the way to the line to edge a photo-finish by a short head and consign Billaway to his second runner-up finish in this race.

“Training them is just so much harder,” said Biddick. “I’ve been a bag of nerves all day but it’s an incredible feeling to have a winner here and Lorcan gave him an absolute peach. The horse jumped and travelled and he was put in the right position to finish it off which he did.”