Cheltenham runner-up wins on hurdles debut Cheltenham Festival Bumper runner-up Appreciate It won on hurdles debut at Cork today as the Willie Mullins trained, Paul Townend partnered 1/12 favourite made light work of beating 13 rivals in the I.N.H. Stallion Owners EBF Maiden Hurdle. The son of Jeremy finished the curtailed 2019/20 season with a second place finish to stablemate Ferny Hollow at Cheltenham in March and today reappeared in fine fettle when beating runner-up Master McShee hard-held by two and a half lengths. Appreciate It began his career for trainer Pat Doyle when third to Envoi Allen in a hot Ballinaboola point-to-point in February 2018 and then won at Dromahane the following month, before joining Mullins. Following today's rout, Townend stated "I'm very happy and he jumped brilliantly the whole way and picked up well from the back of the last. "He is deadly to jump and had a lot of it done (for Pat Doyle) before we went jumping him. Over two miles you couldn't be happier with him and he'll have no problem going further."
