Banjo completes Ladies Cup/La Touche double

Singing Banjo completed the historic Ladies Cup/La Touche double at Punchestown today, completing the feat in the Mongey Communications-sponsored 4m2f contest for owners the Walsh family and trainer Philip Rothwell.

Today's La Touche is Ireland's longest race and having won Tuesday's 3m1f Ladies Cup under Barry Walsh, the 11 year old today clocked up further mileage under his same driver, and scored at odds of 33/1 in a dramatic race.

Run over 36 fences, the race became chaotic as leader Call It Magic and Keith Donoghue took the wrong course after jumping an early stone wall, with the resulting confusion causing some horses to run out.

Prominent running Ballyboker Bridge slipped up on a bend shortly afterwards but at the end of the marathon, Singing Banjo fought off the challenge of bigger priced 80/1 outsider Michael's Pick for a 3.25L win.

Rothwell, whose Cousin Harry won the festival's Tuesday opener, later reported “it's unbelievable but as I said before it's a family success and it's all about the Walsh family. Aaron, Barry's brother, owns him and their father John trains him for all the point-to-points so this is just an honour for me.

“They have banks at home to school their horses and I've run them in the banks races for them for a number of years and we absolutely love it.'

He added “two years ago he got a little cut on a hind leg and was a bit sore so didn't turn up in the La Touche.

“I always thought that he'd be better over four miles than three and I was questioning whether he should have run in the Ladies Cup the other day so this is just marvellous.

“I've seen him running in the point-to-points for John and he'd look slow. We ran him in a few hunter chases to have him as fit as we could go today and he was so outclassed by a lot of those horses in Fairyhouse a few weeks ago.

“When he goes out there he just latches on to the bridle and he loves it. He's so small, nimble and fast over these fences. He's very good at it.”

Quotes from Gary Carson