Rest of the card
UNQUESTIONABLY one of the stories of the season has been the extraordinary progress made by Treacysenniscorthy and the eight-year-old, who is one of just two horses under the care of trainer Robert Widger, made it four wins in succession in the William Fry Handicap Hurdle.
A second six-figure pot of the weekend for jockey Kevin Brouder, this gelding began his winning sequence over hurdles off a mark of 102 in November and he lined up off a 26lb-higher mark this time.
Cheltenham
Any fears that the handicapper may have finally gotten to grips with the 8/1 chance were allayed as he produced another admirable pillar-to-post tour de force. At the line the son of Beneficial, who is owned by the trainer’s wife Paula, had four and a half lengths to spare over The Jam Man to fuel thoughts of a Cheltenham bid as he qualified for the Pertemps Final by winning at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting.
“For a small stable like ours to come here to a meeting like this with a runner is great and to have a horse with a chance who then goes and wins is the stuff of dreams. It’s very special,” stated former jockey Widger.
“He’s a chaser all day long but since he’s come back to hurdles he has just kept improving. He’s qualified for the Pertemps Final and the handicapper will obviously have his say after this but it’s something we will have to think about now but the horse will tell us,” he added.
Duke shines
A weekend which saw so many of the smaller yards make an impact on the big stage featured a huge success for trainer Paul Gilligan and his wife Natalie as their Glamorgan Duke sprang a 33/1 shock in the Gaelic Plan Hire Leopardstown Handicap Chase.
This €150,000 prize was Gilligan’s biggest success since Berties Dream struck Cheltenham gold in the 2010 Albert Bartlett and this was jockey Conor Maxwell’s most lucrative success to date.
Glamorgan Duke, who had hinted at considerable promise on more than a few occasions since he made his racecourse debut some 53 weeks previously, was always up with the pace and he turned in a tremendously brave display. He seemed set to come off second best when fellow 33/1 shot Trainwreck loomed upsides and edged bypassing the last but from somewhere he found more to move back ahead in the final yards and score by a head.
“It’s great to get a first Leopardstown winner and he’s a good horse. I had the chance of selling him a few times. I possibly should have sold him but I said he’s too good to sell and he’d win a win a big pot some day,” remarked Gilligan.
“We’re a small yard battling to stay going and I’m lucky that our young lads ride out in the morning before they go to school and during the summer. I hoping he’ll make into an Irish National horse and before then he will probably go to Cheltenham for one of the amateur races.”
Success for Walshs
She probably hasn’t won the races that her talents merited but Black Tears (14/1) got her day in the sun in the €100,000 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Paddy Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle.
The six-year-old was given the unenviable task of taking on Stormy Ireland on her last couple of starts so the switch to handicaps and a masterful ground saving ride from Davy Russell brought out the best in Gordon Elliott’s charge.
Black Tears was involved in some scrimmaging as she looked to make ground turning for home and again she was denied a run between horses at the last. However, Russell was able to switch her to the inner on the run in and she kept on strongly to nail the joint bottom-weight Our Roxane late on.
“She’s run plenty of nice races and it’s great she’s won a good pot for Aidan and Caren Walsh and John Lightfoot who are good supporters of the yard,” reported Elliott. “She’s in the mares’ hurdle at Cheltenham and she’ll get a few handicap entries there too.”
Darling’s surprise
A treble on the day for Gordon Elliott came from an unexpected quarter as the Lisa O’Neill-ridden Darling Daughter (25/1) shocked her opponents in the Grade 2 Coolmore NH Sires Irish EBF Mares INH Flat Race.
This Gigginstown-owned daughter of Presenting looked as though she needed to improve markedly from her debut victory at Limerick in late November, especially against a field headed by her odds-on stablemate Bigbadandbeautiful.
Darling Daughter belied her position in the market though with an impressive turn of foot that none of her rivals could match over the last furlong and a half. She reached the line three and three-quarter lengths ahead of Politesse.
The winning rider picked up a six-day whip ban for her efforts.
“She’s improved a fair bit since Limerick but she surprised me the way she quickened up there. We’ll enter for the bumper and we’ll give it consideration as she’s improving all the time,” commented the trainer. “Bigbadandbeautiful (finished fourth) was a bit too keen on her first start for a few months. I’d say we might switch her to the flat next.”
Attendance
2020: 12270
2019: 11712
Bookmakers
2020: 899467
2019: 887467
Tote
2020: 187998
2019: 156097
Cumulative figures
Attendance
2020: 26474
2019: 24256
Bookmakers
2020: 1917531
2019: 1667377
Tote
2020: 354965
2019: 293872