Derek O’Connor savours another Festival winner as Inothewayurthinkin shows class in Kim Muir
Racing Muir Inothewayurthinkin Kim Amateur O'connor After Pic: Won Handicap Photo Healy Fulke Walwyn Jockeys' Of Cup The Cheer: derek Challenge Cup Chase
Derek O’Connor has begun his career as a point-to-point handler with great success so who knows how much longer we can expect to enjoy the masterclasses which the amateur rider once again treated the Cheltenham Festival crowd to when taking the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Chase aboard the Gavin Cromwell-trained Inothewayurthinkin?
Thursday’s display was something special, as his mount, the heavily backed favourite, was slow over the first few fences and found himself near the rear of the 22-runner field. The situation got worse before it got better as JP McManus’ gelding was last of all as they passed the stands on his way out for the final circuit.
But this is where O’Connor has always come into his own. Refusing to panic, he nursed his mount across his obstacles, weaved left and right where necessary and, with trademark precision timing, the leading amateur produced the remarkably short-priced 13-8 favourite to land in front after the final fence.
Just a matter a hundred yards or so from the end of the three-mile-two contest was the first moment O’Connor asked his partner a serious question and the response was impressive as he bounded up the hill to a facile success.
One of only two riders, along with the late John Oaksey, to have won the Kim Muir, National Hunt Chase and Festival Hunters’ Chase – the three Festival races restricted to amateur riders – in their career, O’Connor is one ride away from repeating the feat –at the one Festival.
On Tuesday evening, riding the McManus-owned Corbetts Cross, he won the National Hunt Chase, and how fitting it would be if the 41-year-old were to complete the full set in one Festival by winning Friday afternoon’s Hunter Chase aboard favourite Its On The Line, who also carries McManus’ famous green and gold silks.
“If you watch the whole race, we had the most beautiful position and then as we ran down to the first fence on the inside, I think he got stage fright and landed in the middle of the track,” explained O’Connor, after putting Festival victory number six on his CV.
“I said to Gavin that I went through plans B, C, D and E as it all just fell asunder. It took us five or six fences to get his confidence back and then he raced brilliantly after that.
“But they’d gone a ferocious gallop, which really suited him, and I love riding races like that. I love picking off horses on one with a bit of class, and he’s very classy.”
For Gavin Cromwell, who has had plenty of success this season at Cheltenham, this was his first Festival winner of the week.
“It’s so important to get a winner here,” said the trainer, celebrating his fifth Festival winner. “This is a special place and it’s nice to win here any time of the year. This season we've tried to target some of the bigger pots over here and it’s worked with some horses.”
Praising O’Connor for another ice-cool delivery, he added: “I thought going past here (the stands) that it was going to take an awful lot of luck, he was so far back. He was jumping very big and slow and wasn’t helping Derek. But he is a cool customer, Derek.
“I don’t think it was too hard to take him back, to be fair - he’s a lazy enough type of horse, he got shuffled back very quick, but Derek didn’t panic.
“He wasn’t very economical. He has quality and scope, but I would just like to see him jump a little bit slicker. He is very laid-back at home, and that’s a positive for him going forward.”