RSA INSURANCE

NOVICES’ CHASE (GRADE 1)

HIS route to the race may have eschewed tradition but throughout this season Presenting Percy’s prodigious potential has been amply illustrated and it culminated with this all star display.

In recent years Pat Kelly has excelled in producing Mall Dini and Presenting Percy in the form of their lives for this meeting and the trainer turned out his stable star in rare order to produce a performance of the highest quality.

After this display there is no doubt that we were in the presence of a genuine and formidable Gold Cup contender of the future.

Rather than sticking to novice company in the build up to Cheltenham, last season’s Pertemps Final hero tried his hand against seasoned rivals on two occasions and his switch to open contests was seamless. An impressive victory under a big weight in December’s Porterstown Chase and a fine second to Our Duke in the Red Mills Chase were evidence of the seven-year-old’s potential and, for good measure, he also won the Grade 2 Galmoy Hurdle in January.

Over the last 25 years a number of previous winners of this race had benefitted from trying their hand in open company and that experience was invaluable. Presenting Percy took his time towards the rear of the field on the inner and produced an economical, accurate and nimble round of jumping while his chief rival and compatriot Monalee raced up with the pace and produced a series of bold jumps.

Davy Russell, who was maintaining a sequence that has seen him ride a Cheltenham winner every year since 2006, allowed the 5/2 favourite to start creeping closer over the final mile and Presenting Percy was still going especially well at the third last.

The Philip Reynolds-owned gelding then went for home before the second last and stormed clear. He cleared the last with style in a seven-length triumph over a brave Monalee.

“It’s incredible to have a winner here for the third year in a row and Pat is a genius the way he has trained this horse,” reflected an elated Philip Reynolds.

“To win an RSA you need to stay and that was the reasoning behind running over three miles, five furlongs in the Porterstown Chase earlier in the season.

“He ran in open company to harden him up and Pat knew exactly what he was doing. Also Davy was brilliant on him and he did have a very hard choice to make between this horse and Monalee earlier in the season.

Russell later added: “Pat Kelly is just a brilliant trainer and he deserves every bit of credit he gets. I

“t’s a great performance from Pat and all the team and what a route to take to the RSA. It’s great that he’s won the Grade 1 that we hoped he would.”