Fury Road and Davy Russell jump an early flight© Photo Healy Racing
Michael O'Leary's last sizeable crop of novice hurdlers is bearing fruit as his Fury Road survived a late scare to win the Grade 2 Lyons Of Limerick Jaguar Novice Hurdle at Limerick, 15 minutes after the Gigginstown House Stud owner's Abacadabras bagged the Grade 1 novice at Leopardstown.
Both Abacadabras and Fury Road are trained by Gigginstown's principle trainer Gordon Elliott and while Abacadabras scored a somewhat workmanlike eight lengths win in the top level Paddy Power Future Champions Novice Hurdle at the Dublin venue, Fury Road won at Limerick despite blundering at the final flight.
Fury Road, under Davy Russell, travelled supreme well for most the 2m7f Limerick race and while he had the race almost in safe-keeping approaching the final fence, met that obstacle on a wrong stride. Russell then kept the partnership intact as Fury Road found enough on the run-in to fend off the challenge of runner-up Well Set Up to score a length win.
Afterwards Russell, who won the opener on the Gigginstown owned Argumental revealed “the ground is so testing, he would have met the last perfectly if we were racing but on that heavy ground I got no response from him and could do nothing.
“He wasn't going forwards and wasn't coming back to me but I knew he was well able to jump obviously. Whatever I did was going to be wrong but he is a talented horse and is a typical, good looking Gigginstown-type horse.
“All those questions about his ideal trip will fit in eventually but he is versatile.”
