Majborough (right) challenges over the final flight© Photo Healy Racing
Majborough announced himself as a star of the future as he toughed it out to land a Willie Mullins dominated JCB Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Held in the highest regard by the master of Closutton, the juvenile went into plenty of notebooks when an eyecatching third behind Kargese at the Dublin Racing Festival, and it was that duo who fought out the finish at Prestbury Park.
With Danny Mullins keen to keep a tight hold on Kargese, Mark Walsh cut a relaxed figure aboard the JP McManus-owned Majborough and after the second-last they were chief among the Mullins-trained battalion that emerged to swamp the forward-going Salver
Heading to the last it appeared Kargese held the advantage as Majborough wandered around, but they jumped the final flight in unison, after which the stamina reserves of the 6-1 winner came into play as he was pushed out by his rider to strike by a length and a half.
It was McManus’ third win in the Triumph Hurdle following the victories of Ivanovich Gorbatov and Defi Du Seuil and it continues the Closutton dominance of the race, with Mullins winning it for the fourth time in five years.
He said: “I’m surprised at his price of 6-1 – I expected him to be favourite, he was my pick of this race.
“A lot of mine have been improving all season for their second run. I couldn’t get him out at Christmas, but I got him out at the Dublin Racing Festival and I think he needed that and I think Mark learned a lot about him.
“He came back in and said he was going to make all the running on him next time, which was the plan today and he was only fifth or sixth going round, so that shows how strong the pace was, but he jumped beautifully.
“When he came in the yard and they said he was a Triumph hope, I thought he looked more like a Gold Cup horse – he’s some beast.”
He went on: “Physically, he looks like a three-mile chaser.
“He’s a bit angular (at the moment) like all the French horses, but when he comes in from a summer’s grass he’s some beast.
“Who knows how good he could be? Sometimes with Triumph Hurdle horses, their juvenile year can be their best year, but this fellow is so untypical of that.
“He’s a big, jumping horse and normally you’d be going novice chasing next season. It’s not easy going novice chasing with a horse that young, but we’ll see.”
Of Kargese, Danny Mullins said: “She travelled well and I was able to hang on to her a bit, but Mark’s lad hit a flat spot and got going late on.
“My mare was good and tough and galloped all the way to the line. It was a solid run, but I suppose Majborough was the one to take out of the Leopardstown race.
“It was a long way up that hill and while it might have looked like I was hanging on to a bit, you are never home until you’re home in Cheltenham on the New course. You have to hold on to something, but Mark found a bit more.”
The Gary Moore-trained Salver kept at it to take third, looking strong in the finish as he did so.
Assistant trained Josh Moore said: “He’s run right through the line which is a good sign, especially when they do it at Cheltenham.
“We could have done with a stronger pace to run at, but he’s an exciting horse for the future, particularly when he goes over a fence.
“He will go out into the field now, and we’ll look to the future.”
