Going - Hurdle/Bumper: Soft, yielding in places Chase: Yielding, soft in places. Fine and cold
Jackpot Pool - 22,261.00 Not Won. Carried forward to Leopardstown on Thursday 28th December. Placepot Pool - 50,995.56 Dividend - 694.60 Winning Units - 51.39. Pick Six Pool - 125,933.87 Not Won. Carried forward to Leopardstown on Thursday 28th December. Days Aggregate - 645,483.00 Last Year 719,166.00
Adjudicator makes big impression in opener
Eamonn Phelan sourced him for the Bobbetts so he deserves a lot of credit,. When he came he wasn't an easy ride. Leigh Byrne, an amateur in our yard, rides him every day and he's done a fabulous job with him and settled him right down. Our worry with him was that he'd be too keen. A lot of those ex Flat horses can be and that's why we put the hood on him. He settled beautifully and he won as he liked. Paul was happy with how he jumped and he's been a natural at home from day one. He's come to Leopardstown at Christmas and won as he liked so we'll be stepping him up in grade and with these horses you are hoping that they are Triumph Hurdle horses. The owners have been very lucky and Minella Encore won as their first runner for us and this is there second runner. It can probably only go downhill from here!. They are very enthusiastic and more importantly they are lucky.
Elliott off the mark at Leopardstown
He was a good bumper horse. He had a nice run at Navan the last day and we knew he'd come on a good bit from it,. It's nice to get a winner here. We were having them everywhere else but if you don't get them here you get forgotten about!. We'll keep him small and try and find a winners race for him, then see where we go from there.
Ned gets Grade One win in stewards room
The other horse clearly gave him a couple of bumps and the second one was a fairly heft one,. Mark came in and was adamant he would have won the race. The old horse was coming and I'd say justice has been done today.
Sour gifted success after drama filled novice contest
I've never seen anything like it. Losing the other race in the stewards race, then Mengli Khan jumping out at the second last,. I thought at least then we'd be first, second and third going to the last and then the two of them fall individually. It was extraordinary stuff and I was just waiting for them to bring down our third runner and really cap the day. Whiskey Sour was definitely the fourth of ours coming into the race and he ends up winning it. It was just an extraordinary race. I said to David 'how did you miss all those horses' and he said 'it's lucky he's small'. He's probably the smallest horses in the card. It was a lucky win, end of story. The other two horses ran very well. Sharjah and Real Steel and they were probably lucky that Mengli Khan ran out. It was an extraordinary race and I don't know what to take from it.
Trainwreck is another for de Bromhead
Anibale storms clear to land big pot in Paddy Power
It couldn't have worked out better, with our own man riding him and he gave him an excellent ride. He jumped from fence to fence. I was just hoping he wouldn't get there too early and luckily enough he didn't,. He wants a proper trip. He's an old fashioned staying horse and he jumped and galloped. This is what you get up everyday for, to have days like this. It doesn't happen too often but when it does it's great. Bad old mornings, horses going bad, things going bad and the job going bad. When you get a boost it rejuvenates the whole lot. He's always been a very good horse but just luck didn't go his way. He was favourite for the Feltham last year, the race Might Bite ran in. I don't know what happened then whether it was ground or trip or whatever. In the race today he jumped out and travelled and was always in there with a good squeak. I was always happy watching it. There was no stage where I was saying 'we're in trouble', fortunately enough, and it all went right. He got there in plenty of time and the further he was going the better, you couldn't be happier with him. He won well for a competitive handicap. He's after going through (the handicap) roof there now and could be anything. It's days like today that you want. That helps you get to the point-to-point and Clonmels of this world. It's day like today that make it all worthwhile.
Selected storms to bumper success
We bought him at the sales in Cheltenham after Katie Walsh recommended him highly to us. She was right and we're very pleased it worked out,. He looks an out-and-out stayer as they went a huge gallop. I have to give him a crack at a winners bumper rather than go hurdling now and chasing next year. He could be an Albert Bartlett horse for next year. That's the sort of road I'd be aiming at. There were a lot of fancied horses there and he made them look ordinary. He gallops all day and he's not the slowest horse either. I was very pleased with him.