Savills Chase (Grade 1)

AT the end of what has been a challenging year for long-time allies Gordon Elliott and Davy Russell, the pair claimed a victory to savour and now have a lively Gold Cup contender on their hands in Galvin, who bagged yet another captivating edition of the Savills Chase.

Time after time the race has served up an epic spectacle and with last year’s famous win for A Plus Tard still fresh in the memory there was another spellbinding finale in store this time.

However, this time there was heartbreak for last year’s winner and the current Gold Cup favourite as he was nailed in the final yards by Galvin.

At the start of the season the Ronnie Bartlett-owned Galvin may have been considered a lively Grand National contender but in his three runs, the Gold Well gelding has emerged as an increasingly legitimate Gold Cup contender.

With the reigning champion Minella Indo fluffing his lines in the King George, A Plus Tard meeting with defeat here and the British challenge looking threadbare the Gold Cup is looking very open and possibly in Galvin, Elliott might just have an ideal contender on his hands.

This time last year many doubted whether we would see Davy Russell riding at the Christmas Festival again while just two months later Elliott’s world fell apart in well documented fashion.

To their credit, Elliott and Russell have shown fortitude in abundance and neither has looked back since they made their respective comebacks within days of each other in September.

Seamless

For his part Galvin had made a seamless transition to open company this season with a win in a Grade 3 at Punchestown in October followed by a second in the Champion Chase at Down Royal.

This race demanded more but on the nice ground upon which he thrives, Galvin turned out in rare order. Seldom, if ever, has he jumped as well as he tracked a steady enough pace which was set by Kemboy.

The somewhat forgiving nature of the pace was such that all eight runners were still in with a chance coming to the second last where A Plus Tard began to unwind with his charge on the outer.

Indeed such was the odds-on favourite’s progress that he shut out the Russell-ridden Galvin when he went for an opening on the outside of Kemboy rounding the last bend.

This left Galvin on the back foot somewhat and he approached the last fence in third as A Plus Tard attempted to take the measure of Kemboy.

However, Galvin had stamina reserves in abundance to call upon and he came with a tremendous charge on the run-in that made victory a distinct possibility.

A Plus Tard was clinging on as the line loomed but he had to give best in the final yards as Galvin flashed by to score by a short-head. Kemboy was three-parts of a length away in third with Melon .

“That’s brilliant. He got a great ride from Davy and Ronnie has been brilliant to me since I started training, he’s a good friend and a great owner. It’s been a tough year but we’re back now and I’m not ashamed to say I nearly have a tear in my eye after that,” said an elated Elliott.

“We started off winning races at Perth with this horse and having a bit of fun with him but he’s never let us down. He has a great attitude and he stays like hell too, I think the trip of the Gold Cup could really suit him and the plan now would be to head straight to Cheltenham.

“He got into a lovely rhythm which good horses can do and he jumped very well and he was always going to finish out well. It meant a lot to Davy as he’s very close to Ronnie and I’m delighted for him. We’ve been friends since our point-to-point days and it’s great to win another big one with him,” concluded Elliott.

Meanwhile the winning rider added: “I didn’t know where the line was as I was driving away with my head down. I got outpaced after two out but he really motored from the back of the last.

“He jumped fantastic and he’s as game as a pebble and while the pace was steady I was happy to be closer to it than sitting well back on a horse who won the National Hunt Chase.”

Henry de Bromhead said of A Plus Tard: “He ran a cracker. The winner was good and Kemboy’s record here is second to none. I think he ran a cracker, he jumped great and there were plenty of positives, he just didn’t win.”

Dornan Engineering Christmas Hurdle (Grade 1)

AFTER emerging from left field to announce himself as one of the best staying hurdlers around in the final days of last season, Klassical Dream further enhanced his status as one of the standout performers in this discipline with a commanding display.

On his first outing since that superb Punchestown display, Klassical Dream (7/4) made this race his own from the very outset.

He charged into a clear lead as the tapes went up and this was the last that most of his rivals ever saw of the Joanne Coleman-owned eight-year-old.

However, the reigning Stayers Hurdle champion Flooring Porter gave his all in second and showed that he will again be a major player by the time the Stayers Hurdle comes around in March.

After being afforded a cheap initial lead Klassical Dream was closed down by Flooring Porter in a race that effectively turned into a match. The chasing group did move in on the leading pair at the third last but the Paul Townend-ridden winner and Danny Mullins’ mount soon moved on again and their duel for supremacy carried them further and further clear over the last half mile.

Klassical Dream was just too strong for Flooring Porter and the latter could never quite get on terms with the first-named but he stuck to his task splendidly and there was just two lengths between the pair at the line.

Third place went to the former Triumph Hurdle heroine Burning Victory who finished some 21 lengths off Flooring Porter.

Pace in the race

“It wasn’t part of the plan to make the running. We were expecting pace in the race but it wasn’t there so Paul said to me the horse took the initiative jumped out the gate and went,” reflected Mullins.

“He is a horse with huge ability but he wouldn’t always give you confidence when he works and I was hoping things would come right when he came here today and they did.

“Having said that I’d much rather that than a horse who works the house down and doesn’t do it on the track.

“I think we know him a lot more now and trust him. I think with this race under his belt we would have a lot more confidence in him.

“He was going alright at home but wasn’t showing the sparkle that he does on the track and having seen that from him today maybe we are happy that we don’t have to go to the well again before Cheltenham,” added Mullins.

The start of this race was the subject of a stewards’ enquiry which heard evidence from starter Joe Banahan, Paul Townend and Danny Mullins.

The enquiry concluded with the stewards satisfied that the starting procedures were adhered to.