Final Orders and Keith Donoghue pictured on their way to victory© Photo Healy Racing
Final Orders completed a double for Gavin Cromwell and Keith Donoghue, as he recorded his third win in-a-row in the Start Your Free Trial Now At racingtv.com Handicap Chase.
A versatile performer, the six-year-old was winning for the fourth time this year, with his most recent successes coming last month at Killarney and Cork respectively.
On what was his handicap debut over fences this afternoon, the son of Camelot was sent off the 2/1 favourite in the colours of the C M D Syndicate.
Always towards the head of affairs, he improved into a definite lead from the ninth and was pushed along on the approach to two out.
Ridden on the run-in, he kept on gamely to hold off the persistent effort of Archies Charm and Bryan Cooper by three-parts-of-a-length.
The Brian Hamilton-trained runner-up was 16/1 in early shows, but came in for plenty of market support and was returned a 4/1 chance.
The front pair went 16-lengths of Arctic Ambition (drifted from 15/8 out to 5/2) and Sam Ewing in third.
"He is absolutely (going the right way). He's just so good to jump, he just keeps gaining lengths," said Cromwell.
"He's only a small, little horse and he just got away with that ground. He wouldn't want it any softer than that.
"We are getting up to a high enough mark and he might sneak into the bottom of a nice handicap somewhere.
"We'll have a look at the calendar and see - if there was something around Leopardstown, you might get nice ground."
Cromwell and Donoghue earlier combined to take the second with Invictus Machin
STEWARDS REPORTS
Owing to the low elevation of the sun, the Stewards granted permission for fence #3 to be omitted from this race
The Stewards interviewed B.J. Cooper, rider of Archies Charm (GB), concerning his use of the whip in the latter stages of this race. Evidence was heard from the rider concerned. In his evidence, B.J. Cooper admitted that he had marginally exceeded the whip guidelines for frequency and said that he had difficulty judging the final stages of the race when facing a strong sun. Having viewed a recording of the race and considered the evidence the Stewards were of the opinion that B.J. Cooper was in breach of R10(3)(g) by using hiswhip with excessive frequency. Having taken his clean previous record into consideration, the Stewards cautioned B.J. Cooper on this occasion.
At the request of the Stewards, M.P. Walsh, rider of Envol Pierji (FR), trained by Miss Elizabeth Doyle, reported to the Stewards' Secretaries that his mount jumped poorly before being pulled up.
Additional reporting by Michael Graham
