Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 1)

GORDON Elliott has trained more talented horses in his career than Wodhooh, but he may never have had a mare to deliver when the chips are down like this prolific dual-Cheltenham Festival winner. For the second year in succession, she got the leading trainer off the mark for the meeting - this time winning in Grade 1 company for the first time under Jack Kennedy.

Sent off as 5/6 favourite for The Sundowners Partnership, she was kept up to her work in seeing off Jade De Grugy by a length, although she never really looked like getting beaten and was always doing enough.

Since joining Elliott, last season’s Martin Pipe winner has won 10 of her 11 starts over hurdles. It’s quite the compliment that the only mare to beat her was this week’s Champion Hurdle heroine Lossiemouth, when the pair finished 1-2 in the Aintree Hurdle last spring.

Having begun the week with his first 33 runners at the meeting beaten, a delighted Elliott said: “We knew today was our best chances - we’ve a winner on the board now and three seconds. I don’t think I was ever quite in the wilderness - it’s hard to get winners here and we just weren’t bouncing, but we’re on the board now.

“The race worked out great; Jack gave her a peach. She idled a bit halfway up the straight, but picked up again - she’s something else. It’s hard to know just how good she is, because to be fair to her she doesn’t do anything fancy at home, but we’re lucky to have her. She could go to Aintree next; she went well there last year. We have options in Ireland as well, so we’ll see.”

Kennedy added: “It’s been a frustrating couple of days, but when you have a mare like her that you are waiting on, you’re quietly confident that you are going to get one on the board. Obviously I had no winner here last year, so to get that is brilliant and thankfully Gordon and all of the team haven’t had to wait as long as last year. A massive thanks to them for all the hard work they put in. It’s brilliant.

“I was very happy the whole way. She just hit a bit of a flat spot coming down the hill, which she can do, and I probably gave her a bit of a squeeze a bit early and got there plenty soon enough on her, but she’s so honest nothing was going to get by her in the straight.”

Completing an Irish-trained 1-2-3 was the Paul Nolan-trained Feet Of A Dancer. Wodhooh is the general 3/1 favourite for next year’s Mares’ Hurdle and 25/1 for the 2027 Stayers’ Hurdle.

Paul Townend, rider of Jade De Grugy (second)

“After I nearly fell off her at the first, I was happy enough with where I was. I thought I hit a little flat spot at the top of the hill, but it didn’t bother me that far out as I wasn’t going to take Jack on out there. I think she’s run an absolute cracker and we’ve been beaten by a very good mare. I don’t think any of us really know how good Wodhooh is, but I’m delighted with how ours ran.”

Paul Nolan, trainer of Feet Of A Dancer (third)

“What a run! I just thought turning in we might have a chance, as she’d jumped brilliant. Our plan was to try something different and track Wodhooh in case she idled in front and we might be able to come with one run, but ours just wants three miles now - she doesn’t have that pace and the other two pulled away up the hill.

“They were just going half a gear quicker than she’d like the whole way, but what a little mare and now she’s Grade 1-placed. I don’t know if we’ll go to Punchestown as she’s had a hard race there and we’ll have to see how she is, but she’ll be back next year.”