Whyso shows that age is just a number After the heart-warming display of Newmill, fourth in the feature race, another veteran, Whyso Mayo put up a remarkable performance at the age of fourteen to land the closing Arctic Tack Stud Hunters Chase under Damian Murphy for his owner Kathleen O'Driscoll and trainer Ray Hurley at Thurles. Winner of this event in 2007, Whyso Mayo began his career way back in January 2002 and the senior champion rider in the point-to-points in 2008, Murphy has been aboard for the majority of his starts including the two big successes, in the major hunter chases at the Cheltenham and Punchestown Festivals back in 2006. Here the Kasmayo gelding led four out and he kept galloping gamely up the straight to beat the staying-on from off the pace Boxer Georg by a length and three parts. Hurley, who enjoyed a big day with Imperial Call in the Punchestown Heineken Gold Cup back in 1999, said: "He is really enjoying himself. We had him started early and got a great pre-season into him but then the weather really set us back. "He'll improve again from today and there's life in the old boy yet!" Depending on how he comes out of the race Whyso Mayo's next appearance in public could be in the Raymond Smith Memorial Hunters Steeplechase at Leopardstown on February 6th.
