IT is not often that you get two two-mile handicap chases on one card but that was the case at Fairyhouse on Saturday, with the Irish Racing Yearbook Handicap Chase rerouted from foggy Gowran Park the previous Saturday and renamed the Winter Festival Handicap Chase.

And it is even less often that the same trainer-owner-rider combination can win two two-mile handicap chases on the same card. But that was also the case on Saturday, with Peoples Park winning the first of them, the Easyfix Handicap Chase, and I Knew Well winning the second, the Winter Festival Handicap Chase, both horses representing J.P. McManus and Tom Taaffe, both ridden by Mark Walsh.

Tom Taaffe hasn’t has things easy in recent years. The trainer who masterminded Kicking King’s Gold Cup and dual King George-winning career has suffered more than most through the recessionary times, but this double was a reminder that he can still train racehorses. These are two nice horses, and his Rogue Trader is another exciting staying chaser.

Peoples Park was particularly impressive. There was a lot to like about the manner in which he travelled through his race behind the fast pace and the way that he pulled clear of his rivals from the final fence. It was a solid race too, the pace was strong and the winning time was good, the fastest comparative time on the day by some way and 4.7secs faster than the time that I Knew Well clocked a half an hour later.

The handicapper raised him by 9lb, to a mark of 132, but he is only seven and Saturday’s race was just his seventh chase, so he has the potential to progress sufficiently to take that type of hike in his stride. He is effective over two miles and over two and a half miles and, by Presenting, he handles good ground and soft ground. He will be of interest wherever he goes next.