There were more questions posed than answers provided after the outcome of the Bonusprint Bula Hurdle won by 14-1 outsider Geos at Cheltenham today.
Those looking for clues to the identity of the horse who might find a chink in the armour of three-time Smurfit Champion Hurdle winner Istabraq, when he defends his title in March, left Prestbury Park with very little positive information to work on.
Most of those who plunged on 13-8 favourite Youlneverwalkalone were particularly puzzled after the Christy Roche-trained five-year-old ended his participation in the two-mile-one-furlong event when jockey Conor O`Dwyer called it a day before the final flight.
There was no one more mystified than the gelding`s owner JP McManus who, at least, has the consolation of knowing, all being well, Istabraq will be the one carrying his famous green and orange colours come the big day.
'It`s a bit of a mystery as he never seemed to be going at all,' said McManus.
'Conor came back and said he was never travelling. You can`t say the race came too quick after last week as he couldn`t be beaten that far.'
Then there was last year`s Champion Hurdle runner-up Hors La Loi III, who, having drifted in the market, finished proceedings at around the same time as Youlneverwalkalone.
His jockey Andrew Thornton explained: 'He`s run too bad to be true. I`m beaten too far out for it to be his true running.
'If he`d finished third or fourth you`d just say he wasn`t good enough but he was beaten down the far side.'
Of those prominent in the betting only the Tim Easterby-trained Barton ran anywhere near his true form when finishing a six-length second after getting his second wind up the final hill.
'He needed the race,' said owner Stanley Clarke. 'We didn`t really want to bring him here but where else could we have gone?
'We are pleased with that.'
It was a bemused Nicky Henderson who greeted his charge Geos in the winner`s enclosure.
'That`s put the cat among the pigeons hasn`t it?' he smiled.
'All we were trying to do was to have a look and see where he belongs among these hurdlers. He`s answered that question hasn`t he?
'I don`t think he`s going chasing for the time being!
'He was impressive, he quickened away and he`s a proper little horse.'
Henderson has the Pertemps Christmas Hurdle lined up as the next target for the five-year-old, who was cut from 40-1 to 12-1 for the Champion Hurdle.
Earlier McManus saw his colours carried to a neck success in the Tripleprint Gold Cup by Go Roger Go, who beat the fast-finishing Robbo by a neck.
McManus also reported all is well with Istabraq, who will make his seasonal bow in the December Festival Hurdle at Leopardstown.
'I spoke to Aidan (O`Brien, Istabraq`s trainer) earlier today and he was very upbeat about the horse,' he said.
'The plan is to run him on December 29 up at Leopardstown and he may have another run before Cheltenham.'
McManus admitted the last campaign was a tough one for his hurdling star and he preferred to make life easier for him this season.
'We spoke about it and decided we wanted to give him his best possible chance of winning the Champion,' he added.
'We felt last year that he had a very long season and the race he had against Limestone Lad set him back a little bit and he was beginning to feel it towards the end of the year.
'We thought this year we wouldn`t give him such a long campaign before the Champion as there`s some great races afterwards at Liverpool and Punchestown and we thought we owed it to the horse to give him every chance.'
Fitzgerald`s success on Geos completed a 156 1/2-1 treble for the jockey.
His first victory came on board Mister Banjo (4-1) who got the better of a protracted battle up the hill with Run For Paddy providing the large crowd with a thrilling finish to the opening Concord Brights Filing Products 'Relkeel' Hurdle.
The winner`s owner John Hales paid tribute to Fitzgerald after the one length success.
'I thought Mick gave him a brilliant ride,' said the owner.
'He had the sense to go a slow early pace and knew exactly when to go for home. He held him beautifully up the hill.'
The eventual aim for Mister Banjo will be to go three-mile chasing but in the short term he will return to this track for his next two outings according to winning trainer Paul Nicholls.
'He`ll come back here in January for the Cleeve Hurdle and then we`ll bring him back for the Stayers` Hurdle,' the trainer said.
Fitzgerald then followed up with an equally impressive success on board Dusk Duel who gained a facile 15-length success over Somemanforoneman in the Doubleprint Novices` Chase to initiate a double for Henderson.
