DELTA Work played the role of pantomime villain when beating Tiger Roll in last year’s Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase but this time he was the toast of Cheltenham’s favourite backers when bringing up consecutive wins in the race as the well-backed market leader.

Keith Donoghue has not been a frequent fixture in Gordon Elliott’s riding plans in recent years but was recalled for the winning ride in Jack Kennedy’s absence and showed extreme coolness to time his final challenge beautifully on the 11/10 favourite.

They say it takes at least two horses to make a great race, though, and Galvin did his bit to ensure the closing stages of the Festival’s longest contest was entertaining, putting it up to his stablemate on his first appearance in a cross country event.

Softer ground

Delta Work’s preference for softer ground may well have told in the closing stages, though, as he scored by two and a half lengths in the colours of Gigginstown House Stud - meaning the winning owners have now won five of the last six runnings of the Cross Country.

“I love this race and it’s great to have the one-two,” said Elliott.“Galvin ran a great race in defeat. Davy [Russell] said there were a couple of soft spots that didn’t suit him that well. The O’Learys have been brilliant to me, though, and to train a winner around Cheltenham for them is unbelievable as they are massive supporters of Cullentra.

“Keith started off with me when he was 14 and he is having his best ever season. He went freelance so I said when Jack couldn’t ride I said there is no better man to have on him over the banks. Both horses will go for the Grand National now. Franco De Port’s third ensured a 1-2-3 for Irish-trained runners.

Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Challenge Cup Handicap Chase

DARRAGH O’Keeffe entered this year’s Cheltenham Festival as the only rider in the top 10 of the Irish jockeys’ standings without a winner at the meeting, but he put that omission to right by landing the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual on 22/1 outsider Maskada.

Carrying the colours of the Mariga family from East Cork, her six-and-a-half-length victory also provided Henry de Bromhead with his second winner of the 2023 Festival.

Maskada had run out a decisive winner of the Tim Duggan Memorial Handicap Chase at Limerick last Christmas before failing to live up to favouritism on her next appearance at the Dublin Racing Festival.

However, the seven-year-old by Masked Marvel delivered a career-best performance to see off 7/2 favourite Dinoblue, who was let down by her jumping at times.

“I was just touched off last year in the Coral Cup [on Fastorslow], and then I was touched off here in this season’s Paddy Power Gold Cup [on French Dynamite] as well - I was starting to get nightmares about this place!” said O’Keeffe.

“I was going to win a mares’ handicap chase on her at Fairyhouse and she tipped over at the second-last, and then she won at Limerick next time out [under Sean O’Keeffe]. I’m just grateful to Maskada’s owners for putting me back on her.”

From the 11 Irish-trained horses in the Grand Annual, the visitors managed to supply seven of the first 10 home.

Fourth time lucky for Donlon’s Langer

Coral Cup Handicap Hurdle

LANGER Dan finally made his fourth appearance at the Cheltenham Festival a winning one by taking out the Coral Cup for Harry and Dan Skelton in a gripping three-way finish.

Colm Donlon’s useful handicapper had the misfortune of bumping into a 142-rated Galopin Des Champs in the 2021 Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, and was brought down at the second flight when bidding to go one better last year.

There were no hard-luck stories this time, though, as he came home strongly to collar a fine effort in defeat from the Martin Brassil-trained An Epic Song, with big-handicap winner at last year’s Punchestown Festival, Camprond, going down fighting in third.

The winning trainer said of the 9/1 shot: “He’s a little pocket rocket. In these handicap hurdles he can skip around and nip into gaps. It’s an amazing story because Colm bought four foals and he was trotting around one day as a three year old. I rang Colm up saying we will have to get your money back as this horse is tiny and he will never be a racehorse.

“To be fair to him, he said they all deserve a chance so let’s see how he gets on and he has just been mega. I hoped he would be a Stayers’ Hurdle horse earlier this season but he just won’t go [on as we’d like] in the autumn.”

Crowd watch

A crowd of 50,387 meant a significant drop against the same day 12 months earlier when 64,431 attended.

Jockey bans

Despite the easy nature of Energumene’s victory, there was still a price to pay for Paul Townend in his Champion Chase success as he picked up a five-day ban for careless riding after crossing Captain Guinness when not deemed to be sufficently clear.

Harry Cobden also received a four-day careless riding ban for allowing Captain Teague to shift right without sufficient correction late on in the Champion Bumper.