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DRINMORE NOVICE

CHASE (GRADE 1)

GIGGINSTOWN House Stud and Gordon Elliott initiated a Grade 1 brace when the Pertemps Final hero from Cheltenham in March, Delta Work, delivered for the first time at the top level in the Baroneracing.com Drinmore Novice Chase.

A close second in the Grade 1 three-mile novice hurdle at the Punchestown Festival, Delta Work (10/3) is really at home in this exalted company now, and here it was another son of Network that gave him most to do.

TOO CLOSE

Network is of course the sire of the legendary Sprinter Sacre, but that awesome jumper rarely got a fence wrong like Delta Work did at the last here. He simply got in too close and Davy Russell, a three-time winner on the card, was without the aid of his left iron on the run-in.

His mount, a Down Royal beginners’ chase victor in early November, has a lot of talent, and he was able to wrestle back the initiative from Le Richebourg (11/4 favourite) in the final 50 yards to win by half a length.

That Network-sired runner-up had won his two previous starts over the larger obstacles, and this is surely strong form as they went away from one of the pace-setters, the very useful Jetz, by eight lengths.

Delta Work can now be backed at around the 8/1 mark for the RSA Chase but Elliott, victorious here 12 months earlier with Gigginstown and Russell as well through Death Duty’s win, is looking to more immediate targets.

“I’d imagine Leopardstown at Christmas will be the plan. He’s not the biggest, most robust horse in the world but he’s a nice horse and we’re lucky to have him,” he said.

Russell was impressed saying: “Just down to the last he had a good look at it. I ended up losing my iron at the back of it but he was good enough to come back and do it then so all credit to the horse really.”