Six-year-old Croke Park brings it home for Gordon Elliott in Drinmore Novice Chase
Jockey Drinmore Ewing After Racecourse Sam Racing Park County Novice Fairyhouse And Chase One Meath Croke Winning In The Bar At
Just five runners and a pedestrian pace may not be the ideal make-up for any race, but they led to a tremendous finish in the Grade One Bar One Racing Drinmore Novice Chase. While the spoils went to Gordon Elliott, it was the outsider of his three runners, Croke Park, who delivered under a beautifully judged ride by Sam Ewing.
The imposing six-year-old, whose early-season promise as a hurdler tapered off quite dramatically, had made a winning chase debut at this track, but this was a huge step up in grade and one it was difficult to see him coping with.
However, Ewing set a slow pace, dictated matters throughout, and while he had challengers on both sides as they raced down over the last two fences, he had a willing partner who stuck his head out to prevail by a neck.
Heart Wood stuck to his task well to take second place, with the winner’s stablemate and favourite Firefox, who held every chance, a short head back in third. Gorgeous Tom, who struggled when the pace first picked up, rattled home to be just half a length further back, with the only other runner, Shecouldbeanything, not far detached.
“If you ran the race again five times, you’d get five different results,” admitted Elliott. “The five horses were within a couple of lengths jumping the last, which shows they went absolutely no gallop. Sam was in the right position, and his horse jumped from fence to fence.” Of beaten favourite Firefox, he added: “I think the way the race worked out wasn’t ideal for him. I think there are a lot of plusses to be taken from it. Looking at it, he’s probably a real two-miler. You could use his jumping and his stride over two miles, and he mightn’t just have got home over two miles five.”
Elliott later doubled his day’s tally when Koktail Brut, a €250,000 purchase at Goffs Punchestown Horses-In-Training Sale, ran out a wide-margin winner of the bumper under jockey Paddy Cleary.
Naturally Nimble was a touch frustrating on the Flat but made the breakthrough at the seventh time of asking. When he made an inauspicious hurdling debut last Saturday week, it looked as though it might be a similar start to his hurdling career.
Fast forward eight days and the Joseph O’Brien-trained horse proved a completely different prospect in the Grade Three Bar One Racing Juvenile Hurdle.
Allowed to drift off the strong early pace, he travelled strongly under a confident Richie Deegan, and when it jumped the last just on the shoulder of the long odds-on Willy De Houelle, he quickened up sharply to win a shade cosily.
Harry Sexton cut an unmistakably delighted figure as he crossed the line victorious aboard History Of Fashion in the Porterstown Handicap Chase. Following up a recent Down Royal success and going one place better in this race than 12 months ago, the ten-year-old trained by Pat Fahy dug in deep to get the better for Another Choice from the back of the last fence.
The Gavin Cromwell-trained La Malmason cantered to victory in the opener, the Bar One Racing Irish EBF Mares’ Handicap Chase. Keith Donoghue’s mount, whose only previous win over fences came last December at Cheltenham, looked an improved performer and could be ready to fully realise her potential.
Harry Derham and jockey Paul O’Brien, a Cork native who plies his trade across the water, made a successful raid in the Bar One Racing Handicap Hurdle in which Washington ran out an impressive winner for the Berkshire team.