Glen Ode and Phillip Enright race to victory© Photo Healy Racing
Point-to-point winner Glen Ode (7/2 joint favourite from an opening offer in the shops of 10s) was always likely to at least take a hand in the Thurles Racecourse Handicap Chase, if his jumping sharpened up, and so things panned out as the Saddlers' Hall gelding took the prize.
John Joe Walsh's charge travelled strongly on the pace throughout in the hands of Phillip Enright.
His jumping frailties threatened to come back to haunt him, with a mistake four out, but it was pretty much plain sailing from there home for the eight-year-old, owned and bred by Patrick O'Donoghue from Araglen.
Glen Ode crossed the line a length and three parts in front of West Ship Master
"He can be a funny horse to ride over fences. He'd unseat you more than he'd fall and he nearly did that at the fourth last there," acknowledged Enright.
"John Joe had him as fit as could be today. I think the run here the last day in a handicap might have just sharpened his jumping up a bit.
"I think he jumped pretty well when he had a lead but he was very green jumping in front. He gets a bit ignorant in front.
"Thankfully he kept galloping to the line.
"He won a point-to-point and Ambrose McCurtin deserves a lot of credit. He told me how to ride him-he'd won the point-to-point on him.
"He told me to let the horse jump and not to try to make him jump. I listened to Ambrose and he was spot on.
"He's keen and he doesn't have much scope. When he runs down to a fence he doesn't tend to back off.
"Ambrose told me to trust him and thankfully at most of the fences I was able to do that. He's won well anyway-I'm not sure how good a race it was-but a race is a race."
P. Townend, rider of Western Promise trained by Shane Kieran Ryder, reported to the Clerk of Scales that his mount never travelled at any time during this race.
(EM)
