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DEREK O’Connor was the toast of Punchestown on Friday after delivering yet another masterclass to capture the Event Power Champion Hunters’ Chase on one of his favourite characters, Its On The Line, for J.P. McManus and Emmet Mullins.
But for a narrow defeat at the Cheltenham Festival behind Sine Nomine, the strong stayer would have completed a famous hat-trick of hunter chase wins, having won the Randox Foxhunters’ Chase at Aintree in the interim.
O’Connor was also crowning a phenomenal spring, having won the other two amateur-only races at the Cheltenham Festival, the Aintree highlight of this discipline and the Grade 2 Donohue Marquees Future Stars Bumper at the Dublin Racing Festival.
Sent off the 6/4 favourite here, Its On The Line was on and off the bridle at times in his own peculiar style but managed to reel in Lifetime Ambition when it mattered on the run-in.
O’Connor said: “He’s an amazing horse who just does enough to stay alive all the time. Every time you ask him, he brings something a little more for you. I’m very fond of him and would stand up for him every day of the week because he tries his heart out for you.
“To be fair, I never got serious with him until the last because I wanted that company. Susie Doyle rode a brilliant race on Lifetime Ambition and is unlucky in defeat. She’s upsides Maxine O’Sullivan now for our ladies’ [point-to-point] championship. This horse is hard to beat.
“We get wiser as we get older, and I’m learning the traits with this horse. I think if I could do Cheltenham all over again, I think we could have made a clean sweep of it, if I knew then what I know now. Punchestown is the best festival of them all because they’re so true to the grassroots, so true to the Kildare farmers’ race, banks races and amateur races. I wouldn’t swap Punchestown for any other.”
It also emerged in the aftermath of the extended three-mile event that triple Grade 1 and dual Cheltenham Festival winner Samcro had been retired at the age of 12 by Gordon Elliott and Gigginstown House Stud. The popular veteran travelled with zest on the front end for a long way on his final start before being pulled up when tiring.
Brilliant Brides
Even though the dominance of Willie Mullins has been the overarching theme of the 2023/’24 National Hunt campaign, the rise and rise of Gavin Cromwell has been a massive takeaway from this season and he overhauled the champion trainer’s troops with Brides Hill in the Grade 2 Glencarraig Lady Francis Flood Mares Chase.
Allegorie De Vassy, sent off the 11/8 favourite for Mullins, set off at a strong gallop over this extended two and a half miles but failed to get home. It was the 15/8 second favourite who extended 21 lengths clear of Instit in the Hanlon Concrete and Irish EBF-sponsored prize.
Sean Flanagan, sporting the colours of the Brides Hill Syndicate, was deputising for the injured Keith Donoghue.
“She was very good - I was concerned because I thought the ground was gone for her,” said Cromwell.
“She was foot-perfect. She’s had issues with her jumping in the past but she’s become very good now. Keith has done a lot of schooling with her and it’s unfortunate he can’t be on her but Sean does a lot of work with these horses too and it’s nice to see him getting a day.
“At Cheltenham we took her out because of the ground but isn’t it great to win here? It’s been a brilliant season overall. All the horses are running great and that was my 70th jumps winner for the season. It’s fantastic, 62 was my best, and that was the target.”
Marine team on top
Michael O’Sullivan recorded his first career success at the Punchestown Festival with a well-judged ride aboard Barry Connell’s Hgranca De Thaix to land the Listed EMS Copiers Novice Handicap Chase worth €100,000.
It looked tough to make inroads from off the pace here, and the 16/1 winner was able to keep the front-running 4/1 joint-favourite Perceval Legallois firmly in his sights for much of the journey.
The improving seven-year-old scorer picked up well after the last to score by four lengths.
Connell said: “Lets Go Champ was third to him at Limerick last time and he won the equivalent race here on Wednesday so the form was there in the book. He’s been progressing away all season and had a nice weight [of 10st 8lb]. His jumping was super and the first two pulled well clear.
“That will be his last run of the year. I want to give him a break as he’s had five runs now. He’s only seven and he could be Munster National horse or one for the Paddy Power next season.”
Mission accomplished
The Stanley Asphalt Hunters’ Chase for the Bishopscourt Cup served up a cracking finish, with Private Ryan (9/4) landing the prize he was bought to win for Sean Doyle, Jamie Scallan and Henry Chamney.
De Nordener made a bold bid under Toni Quail, out to build on his fifth in Tuesday’s Ladies Cup, and just came up two and three quarters of a length short as 2/1 favourite in second.
Doyle said: “We had him as a young horse and we sold him [for £80,000 in April 2022]. He appeared in the sales at Doncaster last year, he had never raced for Nicky Henderson as the syndicate fell out, and Henry (Chamney), a local farmer, was looking for something for this race.
“By luck, we stumbled across this lad [for £9,000] and he fitted the bill well so it all worked out. It’s like a dream come true for this man, he’ll absolutely love this. This horse won the trial well here but he got a cut the next day he ran.
“There was a little bit of a rush on and I’d like to thank Michael Murphy, who we call Mouse. He looked after him every day, it’s 47 days he was telling me, and we’re over the moon to pull it off. It’s absolutely magic.”