Minella Crooner (left) and Bronn jump an early fence© Photo Healy Racing
Minella Crooner bounced back to his best to land the season feature at Wexford, the Listed M.W Hickey Memorial Chase.
Placed at the highest level over flights, the Gordon Elliott-trained seven-year-old was disappointingly pulled up when last seen in the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Sent off a 4/1 chance this afternoon, the son of Shantou was always close to the pace, with the easy-to-back 8/15 favourite (from 1/3) Bronn attempting to make all.
Pushed along to lead entering the straight, the Jack Kennedy-ridden victor was soon pressed by the strong travelling Joyeux Machin
However, that Paul Nolan-trained gelding blundered at the last, handing the initiative to Minella Crooner and he proved game on the run-in, with half-a-length between them at the line.
The runner-up was returned at 3/1 under Sean Flanagan, with a further 19-length gap back to Time To Rocco in third.
The market leader faded tamely in the straight and was another 49-lengths away in rear.
"He is going to come on plenty for that as he had a good blow. I'm very happy with him," Kennedy said of the KTDA Racing, Nick Courtney and Cillian Moran-owned bay.
"He was kind of always holding him (the runner-up), the jump at the last really sealed it. That's the one thing about him, he can spend a little bit of time in the air but you can always trust him and when you need a big one, you can go for it. It was probably the jump at the last that won it for him.
"Today was the best he ever travelled. He was jumping out towards Bronn a little bit but he was very good. He can go further but I was surprise with how he travelled today, he was very sweet with me."
On the runner-up, Sean Flanagan said: "It was obviously frustrating. He is a high quality horse and it just didn't work out for him today. He done the very same thing here in a beginners.
"Going back in I was thinking should I have sent him on at the back of the second last or should I have waited longer, it's just one of those things.
"On the whole he did jump a lot better today and the end of the day he has run a really nice race. If he had of jumped the last it probably would have been a difference result but he didn't and that's racing."
