THE six Irish-trained winners on Tuesday were all owned by racing’s ‘superpowers’ and so proper recognition should be given to the connections of Eagles Reign, the 80/1 runner-up in the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle.

Trained by Ross O’Sullivan, and ridden by Festival debutant Tom Harney, Eagles Reign was a €12,000 yearling purchase and was a first Cheltenham runner for owner Tommy Ward.

A video of the owner jumping up and down and shaking with excitement while watching the closing stages went viral on social media on Tuesday evening.

Eagles Reign received a big cheer from supporters on his return to the parade ring and connections celebrated afterwards as if they’d won.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Ross O’Sullivan said: “His odds were high and we were just hoping he would run respectably. The rain that fell on Monday night and Tuesday morning was a big help to him. His best form is all on soft to heavy and he has plenty of stamina.”

Tommy Ward has been a big supporter of Ross and Tom and got a huge kick out of the experience. “Both Katie [Walsh, Ross’s wife] and I rode for Tommy as amateurs and he has had a horse with me since I started training,” reported Ross.

“We’ve had plenty of winners together, even though Tommy doesn’t spend big money on horses. He always dreamed of having one capable of running at Cheltenham and then this horse came along and qualified for the Boodles.

“When we met Tommy on the morning of the race he said he had been awake all night! He always goes to Cheltenham with the same pals, and his son Joseph was also over. It was a dream come true for them to be in the saddling area, the parade ring, and then to be standing with the other placed horses afterwards. People were shouting in congratulations to Tommy.”

Connections of the placed horses are invited to a special reception area after each race. “There were 10 or 12 us in there and we stayed until the last race was over and then we went out for the evening. We made the most of it and enjoyed it.”

It was also a massive thrill for Tom Harney, the 7lb claimer who has been with Ross for about five years. “It was Tom’s first ride in England, never mind Cheltenham, and I was hoping for his sake it would go well,” said Ross. “To be fair, he was very relaxed about it, walked the track a couple of times, spoke to Katie, and he gave the horse a great ride. It was a very positive experience for Tom and it was good for his profile.”

Most importantly Eagles Reign came out of the race in top order. “He’s a very simple horse and takes everything in his stride,” said Ross.

“He was a very ordinary horse on the flat – you wouldn’t thank him for a bit of work – but soft ground and hurdles have transformed him. Tom even said the horse raced down to the first hurdle at Cheltenham and attacked it. That’s the type he is.”

You wouldn’t have bet on Eagles Reign developing into a Cheltenham horse after his debut run, last of 16 in a maiden just nine months ago. He has a flat rating in the 50s but Ross does not think he is well-handicapped.

“We would have been tempted to sell him except that he is a half-brother to seven winners and we were hoping his pedigree would stand to him at some stage. When we started schooling him, he loved it from day one. And he has improved with each race over hurdles. That’s the beauty of it – a low-grade horse on the flat can turn things around over jumps.”

Looking ahead, Eagles Reign is likely to get a break when the ground dries up and something like the Lartigue at Listowel could be a suitable target next autumn. Connections have had a taste of Cheltenham now and they will want to come back, so they will be praying for heavy ground every year in March.

Ross concluded: “It was a great day and the funny thing is that it might have been even better. I met Joseph O’Brien before racing and he wanted to withdraw Lark In The Mornin!”