Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle (Grade 1)

GORDON Elliott’s wait for a first Grade 1 success of the season ended in style as he supplied the first two home here with Mighty Potter besting Three Stripe Life to cement his status as one of the best novices around.

Although beaten into third place in the Royal Bond at Fairyhouse last month, the Andrew and Gemma Brown-owned Mighty Potter gave the impression that he would be all the better for that experience and he bore out that view with a likeable effort. For good measure the strapping four-year-old gave Jack Kennedy his first winner back on his fifth ride since he dislocated a shoulder at Navan seven weeks previously.

A small but interesting field went to post for the second Grade 1 of the season for novice hurdlers and the Elliott pair looked on from third and fourth as the favourite Largy Debut cut out the running. The latter showed a tendency to jump out to his right though and after racing keenly he was a spent force coming to the second last.

At this stage the Willie Mullins pair of Grangee and Arctic Warrior took over in front but poised in behind were both Mighty Potter and Three Stripe Life. The winner still looked somewhat raw but when he had to raise his effort he did so without coming under especially strong pressure and he moved to the front before the last.

Three Stripe Life picked up the chase on the run in but hard as he tried he couldn’t peg back his stablemate who carried the day by a length and a half with Farout coming through to take third, a further two and three quarter lengths away.

“I’m delighted with that. They are two very nice young horses and I don’t think we’ll see the best of the winner until next season, you can see by looking at him he is going to be a lovely chaser in time,” said Elliott.

“Obviously we’ll be looking at Cheltenham with both but we’ll let the dust settle on future plans although both horses could easily be back for the Dublin Racing Festival. I thought Three Stripe Life ran well considering it was only his second run over hurdles. He’s still a raw horse. Both horses were wiped out at the second last but they both showed plenty of guts and bottle to come back which is what you’d like to see,” added the trainer who was winning this race for the second time.

Meade success

Elliott saddled four runners in the three-mile Paddy Power Handicap Chase but third and fourth places was the best his team could manage behind the Noel Meade-trained School Boy Hours.

Ten years after he last won the race Meade worked the oracle in this fiercely competitive handicap once more as School Boy Hours (12/1) finally delivered on the potential that has been in evidence from an early stage of his career.

Yet another Paddy Power winner to carry the colours of J.P. McManus, School Boy Hours lined up as a nine-race maiden over fences.

Indeed it was closing in on three years since the eight-year-old last won a race but that apparent fallow spell has yielded a number of honourable efforts in defeat and he put it all together when it really mattered.

Another second season chaser to land a major staying handicap, School Boy Hours (12/1) was given a masterful ride by Sean Flanagan who was partnering the winner on the track for the first time. The jockey was deftly able to chart a trouble-free passage through an eventful edition of this race which claimed a few casualties along the way and resulted in half of the 28 runners completing the course.

Loomed large

By the time the second last fence loomed large on the horizon there were still quite a few horses in contention and one of those was the winner who really began to motor through the field on the inner. Ben Dundee attempted to slip the field turning for home and was still clinging on grimly to the lead as he cleared the final fence.

School Boy Hours was coming all the time though and his inexorable effort carried him ever closer on the run-in before he edged ahead in the final yards to carry the day by half a length. Enjoy D’allen ran an honourable race to lie a further two and a half lengths back in third with Braeside securing fourth ahead of Death Duty.

“I really fancied him and told Sean I thought he would win. He was in super form coming here and he’s good fresh and he’s always been a very nice horse,” reflected Meade who had previously won this race with Cross Appeal in 2011 and Coq Hardi Diamond in 2002.

“Frank (Berry) told Sean to go out and ride him with plenty of confidence and that’s exactly what he did. I know the horse has been two years trying to win over fences but we’ve always liked him and he’s just had various little things that seem to have held him back. Now he’s won this I’d imagine we will keep going in similar races now.”