Better Days Ahead and Jack Kennedy© Photo Healy Racing
Two recent Cheltenham festival victors did battle on respective fencing debuts in Navan’s Race And Stay Irish EBF Beginners Chase today, with ‘lesser’ March winner Better Days Ahead (2/1) over-turning Slade Steel (1/2f), to give trainer Gordon Elliott a treble.
Slade Steel landed Cheltenham’s famous curtain raiser Supreme Novices Hurdle eight months ago, which came three days before Better Days Ahead landed the festival’s concluding Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys Hurdle and, today, both six-year-olds made their seasonal reappearances in the 2m4f event.
In the race, Better Days Ahead made all the running and while he jumped left at some of the later obstacles, Slade Steel failed to peg back the winner and finished four-lengths second.
Winning jockey Jack Kennedy had earlier won on The Yellow Clay but the day and weekend belonged to Elliott, who followed-up yesterday’s five-timer with a treble at his local course today.
Elliott commented “we bought him off Warren Ewing (Constitution Hill’s producer) a couple of years ago and bought him to be a big chaser. He looks like a chaser but it has been a slow burner to where we are getting with these horses.
"Noel and Valerie (Moran, Bective Stud) are massive supporters of Cullentra and they have invested a lot of money in racing. They are getting their dividends now. It takes time to get where we are and to get winners for them in Navan, their local track, is like a dream come true. I'm absolutely delighted for them and this is a special weekend.”
He added “obviously, he is entered in the Drinmore - that might just come a bit too soon. We will look at something probably around Christmas. He is a Martin Pipe (Hurdle) winner and it is a race that good horses come out of."
Owner Noel Moran added “this horse was our first Cheltenham (Festival) winner and did it very well today. His jumping was very good apart from the first couple.
"It is always great to have a local winner here, so we have had a fantastic weekend and can't complain."
Quotes from Michael Graham
